Liam Lawson was Max Verstappen’s teammate for two Grands Prix last year. The young New Zealander inherited Sergio Pérez’s F1 seat after 2024 and was handed a chance to prove himself at Red Bull. The stint was short-lived: after two scoreless outings he was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. Lawson looks back on his brief Red Bull adventure with mixed feelings, though he speaks highly of working with Verstappen.
On the Gypsy Tales podcast Lawson spoke openly about 2025 and his time with the works team, and about being a teammate of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman proved a major support for the young driver, even after the news of his demotion to Racing Bulls. “He’s just such a nice person,” Lawson said. “Really a nice guy. Despite everything that happened at Red Bull last year, he’s always been incredibly good to me.”
“When I first joined the team he was immediately super nice,” he continued. “He was really helpful, even after that whole Red Bull period. He of course often flies home and I moved to Monaco last year. He just says, ‘Let me know if you ever need a lift.’” After a painful return to Racing Bulls Lawson managed something of a comeback; with a string of strong displays at the sister team he secured his seat for the upcoming F1 season. Yuki Tsunoda, his replacement at Red Bull, was less successful. With the promotion of Isack Hadjar the Japanese driver was given a reserve role within the Red Bull ranks.
