Liam Lawson on the pressure to perform for Red Bull and getting advice from Max Verstappen

Liam Lawson might be taking a look at a brand new teammate in 2025 if paddock speculation about Sergio Perez’s career is to be believed. Nonetheless, the New Zealand driver mentioned the strain to carry out throughout the Red Bull household by no means goes away. In actual fact, it’ll probably solely be heightened if Max Verstappen is on the opposite facet of his storage subsequent yr.

“You’re at all times being evaluated,” Lawson shared with me on our highway journey from California to Nevada forward of the Las Vegas Grand Prix (you can watch the full video here). “Particularly in your early years in F1, with the best way our contracts are [set up] and the best way the groups are judging us — we now have efficiency clauses, so we’re at all times below strain. You’re by no means actually secure.”

Even when the 22-year-old secured a full-time seat at VCARB, replacing Daniel Ricciardo in September, the strain wasn’t alleviated. “Final yr, I used to be making an attempt to get a full-time seat. Now, I’ve received a full-time seat, however I’m making an attempt to remain in Formulation 1. It’s the identical sort of factor. We’re clearly making an attempt to attain one of the best outcomes, however I don’t assume your mindset actually adjustments,” he defined.

But even with the immense strain to carry out, and now keep throughout the F1 paddock, Lawson was relieved  that at the least the paddock was extraordinarily welcoming. “Max has at all times been superb to me through the years once I was a reserve driver,” he mentioned, noting that the four-time world champion had apparently watched plenty of his Tremendous Formulation and DTM races. “It’s not like he was protecting a watch [on me] or something, I believe he simply watches that many alternative [racing] collection that he occurred to see plenty of my races.

“I might come again from a Tremendous Formulation race and Max would discuss to me about one thing that had occurred. I might be like, ‘Dude, why had been you watching that?’ but it surely was actually cool, particularly once I was a reserve driver as a result of I used to be wide-eyed and all the pieces felt new to me. To have Max speaking to me at that time was actually cool. I took plenty of recommendation from him.”

It wasn’t lengthy after, lower than 12 months put up his first stint on the grid, that Lawson obtained the decision to VCARB for a full-time seat. “It was extra reduction than something,” he mentioned, referencing the months of hypothesis that he would step into the function mid-season. “It was talked about for a very long time, and I don’t assume the group knew precisely what they had been going to do. It was clear to me that I used to be almost definitely going to get a seat someplace, however we simply didn’t know the place or the way it was going to work, or even when it was actual.”

There have been so many theories and postulations, that Lawson didn’t even inform his dad and mom till the deal was finalized. “There was that interval earlier than I used to be instructed the place I couldn’t actually discuss to my dad and mom. I couldn’t hold calling them and telling them that I nonetheless didn’t know [for certain], so I simply waited till it was actually instructed to my face,” he mentioned.

“I referred to as my dad at three within the morning in New Zealand, and the cellphone barely rang. He picked up right away, he was conscious and ready [to hear the news],” Lawson continued. “It began with me and my dad once I was very, very younger. My family has given up everything for me to be able to do this, so for them, it’s additionally essential.”