Red Bull

Red Bull MISTAKE concerns raised over Ricciardo replacement

Sam Cook Sunday 16 February 2025 21:59

A former Red Bull driver has expressed his concerns about Daniel Ricciardo's Formula 1 replacement Liam Lawson, who is preparing to make his Red Bull debut in 2025.

Lawson replaced Ricciardo after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, and raced the final six races of the season alongside Yuki Tsunoda at Visa Cash App RB.

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His performances in that time were enough to put him in pole position to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull, after the Mexican driver took a sabbatical from the sport following a dismal 2024.

It means, having replaced two legends of the sport in the space of three months, Lawson is preparing to go up against four-time world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

Liam Lawson has replaced Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Liam Lawson will partner Max Verstappen in 2025

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How will Lawson fare against Verstappen?

Lawson's VCARB predecessor Ricciardo also experienced what it's like being Verstappen's team-mate, when he was his Red Bull team-mate between 2016-2018.

Ricciardo is still the only one of Verstappen's team-mates that has managed to beat him across a full season, with Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Perez all failing to do so in succeeding years.

Now, former Red Bull driver Christian Klien has suggested that Lawson needs to take a different attitude into his new role than Verstappen's previous team-mates, expressing some concern about how the New Zealander will get on.

The 22-year-old has only competed in 11 grands prix, and it was a surprise decision by Red Bull to promote him rather than Tsunoda, who has been in the sport for four full seasons.

"He has to go at this in a very clever way," Klien told the Business of Winning podcast. "I think he shouldn't go into Red Bull thinking, 'I can beat Max Verstappen'.

"I don’t think early on in his career that it’s possible. He has to be a great number two driver and learn from the best, which Max Verstappen is at the moment.

"His time can come in the future. It's really exciting to see how he will handle the situation and how Red Bull as a team is helping him in this role next to Verstappen.

"I hope they don't put too much pressure under him. They made the mistake with Kvyat, Albon, etc, etc.

"I think they learned from it. What they need is the second driver who scores points and they can go for the constructors’ championship again."