Liam Lawson’s journey with Red Bull faces challenges as he adapts to demanding conditions.
- A car with a narrow operating window tests Lawson’s skills amid heightened pressure.
- Max Verstappen excels, making Lawson’s learning curve steeper in the competitive Red Bull environment.
- Lawson encounters setbacks, including qualifying difficulties and sprint challenges in Chinese GP.
- With limited track time, Lawson strives to master RB21’s intricacies.
Liam Lawson finds himself navigating choppy waters at Red Bull, as he faces the daunting task of mastering a car with a very limited ‘sweet spot.’ In the world of Formula 1, perception is key and unfortunately for Lawson, the time sheets paint a challenging picture against the backdrop of his seasoned teammate, Max Verstappen. Although Verstappen makes it look effortless, it is evident that it’s anything but easy, as he wrestles with the same car nuances in a way only a handful can.
During sprint qualifying in China, Lawson’s start from the back, following an early elimination, set a frustrating tone. His journey forward came to a halt behind Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls car, leaving him stuck at 14th while Verstappen climbed to third. This was compounded during the grand prix qualifying when Lawson was hampered by traffic, unable to put in a fast enough lap due to encountering Pierre Gasly’s Alpine at the wrong moment—a tactical mishap that cost him dearly.
Lawson admits the Red Bull’s RB21 has a narrow operating window. He believes his struggles go beyond the tricky ‘tyre prep’ process. Instead, it’s about how the car demands to be driven, with Verstappen’s success highlighting Lawson’s struggle to replicate similar tempos. This issue was magnified on the Shanghai track, where intense corner sequences demand precision handling to avoid understeer-induced issues that plagued Lawson.
Time is an adversary for Lawson, as a lack of sufficient practice and technical glitches during crucial sessions, like the Bahrain test and FP3 in Australia, restrict his adaptation. Despite these hurdles, Lawson refrains from blaming his relative inexperience on these tracks, acknowledging that while challenging, it should not define his performance outcomes. Yet, Red Bull’s notorious impatience for results looms as a shadow, pressuring Lawson to expedite his improvement.
Interestingly, Max Verstappen himself acknowledges the car’s difficulties and shares a belief that should Lawson be placed in the Racing Bulls, his performance might reveal more competitive traits. This sentiment offers a sliver of hope as both he and technical director Pierre Wache suggest the need for a more accommodating vehicle setup—though challenges persist, there’s a potential road map for Lawson to follow.
Liam Lawson’s path with Red Bull is fraught with challenges, as he learns to navigate a narrow performance window and adapt swiftly to the high-pressure environment.
