Sergio Perez lesson in Red Bull’s Liam Lawson decision: “Not making same mistake twice”

Red Bull’s decision to axe Liam Lawson after two F1 races reportedly stems from the lessons learned from Sergio Perez’s stint with the team.

On Thursday morning, Red Bull announced that Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda would swap seats at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Lawson has endured a miserable opening two races for the team, failing to score a single point.

On the other hand, Max Verstappen sits second in the drivers’ championship, eight points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.

While Lawson will have the opportunity to rebuild his career at Racing Bulls, it’s a significant blow to his chances of racing for a top team again.

Red Bull learn their lesson

Red Bull have reportedly learned from Perez’s four years with the team.

Lawson replaced Perez at the end of the 2024 season, where the Mexican finished a lowly eighth in the championship standings.

Perez’s poor form saw Red Bull drop to third in the constructors’ championship, behind McLaren and Ferrari.

Despite his underwhelming results, Perez was handed a contract extension at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Team principal Christian Horner felt that a new deal would give Perez the confidence to perform again.

In fact, Perez’s form would get worse, and he would fail to finish on the podium again during his time with the team.

Red Bull seriously considered replacing Perez with Daniel Ricciardo for the second half of the campaign - but decided against it.

Instead, Lawson replaced Ricciardo at RB following the Singapore Grand Prix.

In a report by F1 journalist Lawrence Barretto, he noted Red Bull’s desire to avoid “making the same mistake twice” by “sticking with an underperforming driver for too long”.

While Perez was given four seasons, where he mostly underperformed, Red Bull adopted a ruthless approach with Lawson.

“Sources say the shareholders, plus Team Principal Christian Horner and Red Bull Motorsport Adviser Helmut Marko, agreed unanimously that Lawson should go back to Racing Bulls,” Barretto wrote.

“It’s believed the team accepted that Lawson had also lost his confidence.

“Sources say Red Bull were also mindful of not making the same mistake twice and sticking with an underperforming driver for too long.

“It is understood that Red Bull would consider promoting him again in the future, should he prove himself at the sister team.”