F1 star blasts Red Bull rival in furious ‘that guy f**** sucks’ outburst

Lawson with his face in his hands next to Perez with his hands on his head. Background image of orange flames. — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 star blasts Red Bull rival in furious ‘that guy f**** sucks’ outburst

Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez are F1 rivals once again

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 11 March 2026 23:00

Liam Lawson has stirred up his long-running rivalry with Sergio Perez after the pair clashed again both on and off the track during last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

Perez returned to the F1 grid in Melbourne with Cadillac after spending a season away from the sport. The Mexican driver lost his full-time seat at Red Bull Racing at the end of the 2024 campaign and opted to step back from racing for a year before making his comeback.

During his time with Red Bull, Perez played a key supporting role in the team’s dominance, contributing to constructors’ championships in 2022 and 2023 while helping team-mate Max Verstappen secure four consecutive drivers’ titles.

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But after a significant dip in performance, those in power at Red Bull opted to drop Perez and bring in Racing Bulls driver Lawson for the start of the 2025 campaign.

Famously, the Kiwi driver only lasted two rounds before he was demoted back down to the junior team in a seat he has managed to cling onto for 2026 just in time for Perez's return.

Lawson claims Perez 'still not over' driver axing

The first round of the 2026 season saw Perez and Lawson back racing on the same track once again having had their fair share of testy moments in the past.

The most memorable moment of their rivalry occurred at Perez's home race, when he finished a lowly P18 at the 2024 Mexican GP.

Lawson had rubbed salt in the wound whilst on track during that race, when he gave Perez the finger after overtaking him down the main straight, following a series of battles and even a little bit of contact.

In Lawson's opinion, Perez is still struggling to let go of that incident, with their rivalry being reignited last weekend when the pair battled once again, with the Racing Bulls machinery and brand new Cadillac car lightly making contact once again.

After the pair touched, the Racing Bulls driver took to team radio to say: "That guy f******* sucks," making his opinions clear when speaking to media after the race where he added: "Two years later he’s not over it."

"He’s fighting me like it’s for the world championship and we’re P16 - so, yeah.

"Obviously I don’t really care too much. My race was already over at that point, so we’ll just move on from it."

"It wasn’t anything illegal, he was just aggressive. Honestly, I don’t care. It was for P16."

Despite Lawson's comments, Perez seemed unbothered, telling media: "I was just trying to race him...It was a bit of fun racing, and that’s really it.

"I was in a much slower car, so I think it’s just fine to race."

Even after their momentary wobble, both drivers finished this year's Australian GP, with Lawson crossing the line in P13, three places ahead of Perez who was second from last out of the drivers who finished the race.

Red Bull Sergio Perez Liam Lawson Cadillac Racing Bulls