The change by Red Bull of Liam Lawson for Sergio “Checo” Pérez is already casting the first doubts in the world of F1. The results of the first race of this season have shown that the comparison with the Mexican will be constant if the results do not improve.
Worst debut for a Red Bull driver
The Australian Grand Prix witnessed a historic first: Liam Lawson became the first driver to retire from his first race with the team after suffering an accident. His qualifying time is also the worst ever recorded by a debutant driver in the team.
At the same time, Yuki Tsunoda, who was in the running for the second Red Bull seat, has been able to achieve a positive performance in Racing Bulls, further fuelling the doubts that may have been generated by the choice of Helmut Marko and Christian Horner of Lawson over Pérez and Tsunoda himself.
Helmut Marko and his criticism of Lawson
After the Australian GP qualifying, Helmut Marko showed his dissatisfaction with the driver: “He wanted to show what he is capable of, but things didn’t go well. Now it’s time for him to recover”.
The head of Red Bull has hinted that they will monitor the driver’s performance in the next 3 or 4 races before making a decision about his future. Of course, the pressure is on Lawson himself to show soon that he deserves his place in the team.
The comparison with Checo Pérez is obvious. The Mexican, who joined the Red Bull team in 2020, was an important cog in the wheel of Max Verstappen‘s 2021 title win and contributed as a notable departure in the 2022 and 2023 constructors’ championships. But the 2024 season was horrible, and Pérez could only finish eighth in the Drivers’ World Championship, being the teammate of a world champion who has scored the least points in the last 41 seasons. However, the solid experience accumulated throughout his career and his results in his active years in Formula 1 led many to predict that he would continue at the wheel of the team.
In the comparison it is also important to note that Sergio Pérez had been in the Grand Circus for several years when he arrived at Red Bull, while Lawson only competed at the end of last season, where his performance gave the team good reason to give him the wheel.
Red Bull changes the discourse
Despite initial criticism, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has come to Liam Lawson’s defense, calling for patience and justifying his poor result due to his lack of experience on the Melbourne track. “It was a difficult day for him, because missing Practice 3 on a track he has never raced on put him at a disadvantage.”
These statements are the opposite of those given to Checo Pérez in his last season. Checo Pérez had to be close to Verstappen race after race and the New Zealand driver is being allowed to adapt even though he has been seen more than a second behind the Dutchman in qualifying.
The big question is how long Red Bull’s trust in Liam Lawson will last and whether they will reconsider their decision for the next competitions. Given the high level of competition in Formula 1, there is no room for error and every decision counts.