“Killed Chances at a Top Team!” Max Verstappen Blasts Red Bull for Demoting Liam Lawson After Two Races in 2025

Max Verstappen revealed that he did not agree with Red Bull's decision to demote Liam Lawson to Racing Bulls within just two races in 2025.

“Killed Chances at a Top Team!” Max Verstappen Blasts Red Bull for Demoting Liam Lawson After Two Races in 2025

Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen (Via Red Bull)

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Liam Lawson suffered from an extremely disappointing end to his Red Bull stint partnering up with Max Verstappen. The Kiwi was provided just two races at the beginning of the 2025 season to prove himself and was then brutally demoted to Racing Bulls to make way for Yuki Tsunoda.

Though Lawson fared much better at the sister team than Tsunoda did at Milton Keynes, he was still snubbed too soon. Verstappen has now opened up on the situation and how he felt bad for the rookie.

Max Verstappen is often termed as the career killer at Red Bull. Since the 2019 season, Verstappen hasn’t been defeated by any of his teammates. This has caused the second driver to suffer an ill-fated end to their career, way before they get a fair shot at the Austrian constructor. Now, the Dutchman has recalled the decision to snub Liam Lawson prematurely and how he wasn’t on board with this call back then.

Firstly, Max Verstappen insisted that he doesn’t really care about who partners with him at Red Bull at the end of the day. But the decision to snub Liam Lawson from Milton Keynes within just two races was certainly out of the ordinary. Verstappen recalled that he did not agree with it at the time, but he was not the one making the final calls, and hence couldn’t do much about it.

In the end, not that much, But two races as a team-mate, I didn’t agree with that at the time. 

Max Verstappen said via Viaplay.

Max Verstappen boldly claimed that Red Bull killed a driver’s chance to race for a top team within just two races, which was definitely too soon. Though Verstappen highlighted that Liam Lawson recovered well at Racing Bulls and scored 38 points with the team, as compared to Yuki Tsunoda’s 33 points at Milton Keynes.

The four-time champion reckoned that the team could have let the situation be and given him some more time, as he reiterated that deciding within just two races was definitely too early.

But two races as a team-mate, I didn’t agree with that at the time. You kill someone’s chance at a top team, but I have to say that Liam did recover well at Racing Bulls. You can also say: ‘Leave it all be, but two races is way too early to make a choice.

Max Verstappen added.

Max Verstappen reveals the ‘most impressive rookie’ in the 2025 season

Max Verstappen is hilariously known as the one who takes care of all the rookies and behaves warmly towards them. The Dutchman is often spotted enjoying a conversation with the young drivers.

Gabriel Bortoleto and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Gabriel Bortoleto and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

He even has a sim racing partnership with Gabriel Bortoleto, as the two often race together on live streams. As such, following the culmination of the 2025 season, Verstappen has selected the rookie driver who impressed him the most.

Verstappen pointed out that it was difficult to single out one driver as all of them had made quite an impression in their rookie season. Though the 28-year-old accepted that many of them made mistakes as well, which was quite understandable. Finally, the Dutchman concluded that Gabriel Bortoleto and Kimi Antonelli were the ones who seemed to possess great speed and raw talent.

That’s difficult to say. They’ve all made an impression at certain moments, and they’ve also made their mistakes as rookies — that’s the way it is. I think Bortoleto, in terms of potential, together with Kimi, are the raw talents. I think, personally.

Max Verstappen noted

The new regulations will finally begin in the 2026 season and cause many uncertainties for the teams and drivers. No team seems to be the clear favorite to lead the title charge in the coming season, and it is definitely an exciting situation. It will be interesting to see how Isack Hadjar takes the charge as the second driver at Red Bull and performs against one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1.

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