“It’s a Car That Takes Confidence”: Liam Lawson on Why Red Bull Cars Are ‘Hard to Drive’

Liam Lawson was confirmed as Red Bull’s new driver for 2025 earlier this week, and the New Zealander will now be presented with a golden opportunity to team up with Max Verstappen and fight for wins and podiums. But to do that, Lawson has to get up to speed with his new car, which won’t be easy and he knows that.

This isn’t just because of the pressure of delivering for a top team but because of the way the Milton-Keynes-based outfit builds its cars, drivers need to be extremely confident. On the Pitstop podcast, Lawson admitted that it is difficult to drive a Red Bull car.

“It’s a lot of front,” he said. “Like it’s very aggressive.” 

Lawson went on to talk about the entry speeds of an F1 car while turning into a corner, revealing that it is the most powerful thing about cars. “The Red Bull in my experience is very aggressive in the way that it does it,” he added.

“You have to have confidence to be able to do it because it got a lot of front grip,” Lawson continued. If a driver does not end up getting used to the car, they could run the risk of losing the ‘rear end of the car’ and spinning.

Over the last few years, several drivers have struggled at Red Bull. The likes of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Sergio Perez, all failed to get the best out of the various Red Bull cars they drove. Lawson would be hoping to avoid being a part of that list and for that, there is one driver he could turn to for advice.

Lawson could look up to Verstappen

Many have come and gone at Red Bull since 2016 but Verstappen has been the one constant. The Dutchman has not only survived but thrived. He won four World Championships with a car many felt was too difficult to drive.

Confidence, of course, has been a key as there are very few in F1 who are as full of self-belief as Verstappen is. Lawson, after having his Red Bull move confirmed, also acknowledged that he is planning on learning from Verstappen.

“This guy is the best, he’s won the last four championships, and he’s looked at as the best F1 driver in the world,” Lawson said. “I get to take his data from every single session, every practice, qualifying, race. I get access to everything to see exactly how he does it.” 

Lawson would be cut some slack for certain. He wouldn’t be expected to match or defeat Verstappen in his first season at Red Bull.

However, he also would have to keep in mind the fact that Red Bull let Perez go last week because of his inability to contribute to a Constructors’ Championship victory. Failure to achieve that again could result in Lawson facing the sack too. Therefore, the pressure is truly on.