The common denominator across all of Max Verstappen’s No 2 drivers is that all have ‘failed’ and been replaced. Step up the next failure?
There are many reasons and opinions on Oracle Red Bull Racing’s No 2 Liam Lawson’s poor early season form with his dismal tale continuing at the 2025 Chinese Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai over the weekend. The immediate suggestion, like those have gone before, is to replace him.
Replace Liam Lawson and you don’t necessarily fix the problem. This was the case with all of Verstappen’s teammates, Daniel Riccardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albion and Sergio Perez
Knowing a solution quite the conundrum.
British Formula One journalist (and former team and sponsorship manager) Peter Windsor has view that it ‘Highlights how difficult this car is and how good is Verstappen in that car.’
He takes issue with Lawon’s post-race comments about it being a lack of confidence and suggests the way forward is for Lawson to think about why he is slow.
“The reason he is slow, in my opinion,” says Windsor, “Is that he is nothing but a late braker, oversteer wide turn-in driver, who is never going to be flat in (Shanghai) conditions like Carlos (Sainz).
“He should be saying, ‘I need to work on shorter corners and give myself a bigger platform and palette on which to operate with all these variables that come into play, and I am going to learn about that from Max Verstappen and doing lots of work behind the scenes, presumably with Rob Wilson. I cannot think of another solution.
“There will be moments when he will be quick, when he has a decent amount of grip, balance and of course we know he has superb car control.”
Yet, if Windsor is correct, Red Bull would/should have known this, and you would think have worked on a solution before the start of the season.
Or does this suggest a systemic failure within the Red Bull team? Why have they a history of No 2 failures?
From the outside it does appear that the easiest solution for Red Bull’s No 2 woes is to replace the driver with the next in line. However, right now who is in there to replace Lawson? Honda-backed Yuki Tsunoda is more than likely to be in his final year as a Red Bull driver as the team moves to Ford-powered engines in 2026. Isack Hadjar is in no better position than Lawson’s and who else is there in line?
Windsor is right suggesting Red Bull must have known about Lawson’s strengths and weaknesses when they decided to replace Perez. Did they say to themselves, ‘What is he (Lawson) going to do amongst all the variables?’
Lawson’s ‘failure’ is becoming more indicative of a greater failing of the Oracle Red Bull Racing team. Relacing a driver is not the solution.
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