Liam Lawson embraces “extra tough” start to 2025 alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull

Liam Lawson acknowledged that he might face a challenging start to the 2025 season as he moves to Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

Liam Lawson embraces “extra tough” start to 2025 alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull

Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen (via Getty Images)

Liam Lawson earned a promotion to Red Bull Racing for 2025. This will be the Kiwi driver’s first full season in Formula 1. However, Lawson faces the challenge of having Max Verstappen as his teammate. Now, the 23-year-old has admitted that things might get more difficult.

Lawson has raced in F1 in two small stints in the past two seasons. Coincidentally, both times, he replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull’s sister team VCARB (now Racing Bulls). Milton Keynes has already outlined that Liam Lawson will not be expected to defeat Verstappen on-track.

YouTube video

The Kiwi driver pointed out that the start of the 2025 season will be extra tough for him since he has never raced in some of the circuits in the opening stage of the calendar. As such, Liam Lawson insisted that he did not expect himself to go out and start winning from the season opener in Melbourne.

FS Video

These tracks that we’re going to start at are going to be extra tough, because I haven’t done them. So for me, there’s no real expectation to go out there and start winning races from the get-go.

Liam Lawson told RacingNews365

Liam Lawson sets “clear” focus for debut Red Bull season

The 23-year-old made it clear that he was not going to get distracted during his first season at Milton Keynes. Liam Lawson asserted that he had a pretty clear focus. He simply wants to work with his crew and get up to speed as soon as possible. Lawson will be learning from Max Verstappen, particularly during the first few rounds.

Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen
Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

I think right now, the focus is pretty clear. From our side of the car and the team perspective, we want to adjust as quickly as possible and get up to speed.

Liam Lawson added

Certainly, a lot is on stake for Liam Lawson. The Kiwi driver understands that this is his chance to prove himself as a worthy future prospect for Red Bull. However, the 23-year-old can find himself at risk of being ousted from the grid entirely if he makes even a few unwarranted errors in the coming season.