When Pink Bull determined who to go System 1’s poisoned chalice to for 2025, one issue outweighed all others in deciding on Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen’s teammate. Efficiency mattered, however extra necessary was the strong mindset required to thrive the place his predecessors have failed. It’s a logical criterion to prioritize, however one doubtlessly resulting in different issues given the mentality intrinsic to any profitable racing driver.
It’s an exaggeration to say Verstappen is a career-killer given Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon rose once more in F1, albeit to diminished heights, whereas Sergio Perez is licking his wounds forward of a attainable return in 2026, however all of them sustained heavy injury from sharing a storage with him. Racing historical past is filled with succesful drivers made to look third-rate by direct comparability to an all-time nice, however Pink Bull believes – or maybe extra precisely, hopes – Lawson has what it takes to keep away from that destiny. The New Zealander, at 22 and with simply 11 grand prix begins sprinkled throughout two seasons below his belt, is seen as sufficiently broad-shouldered to hold the burden of what has turn into an unattainable task.
The query of an athlete’s mindset is way mentioned and widely known as a significant part of their sporting make-up, but it’s additionally poorly outlined and tough to research and check besides by trial by hearth in competitors. Lawson has proved he’s assured, carrying himself with an conceited swagger typical of many top-level grand prix drivers each inside and out of doors of the automobile. His CV is gentle on titles – the 2019 Toyota Racing Collection is his most illustrious championship win in automobiles – however contains wins in any respect ranges. Typically, he begins strongly, which helps the notion he’s by no means overawed by a step up. Nonetheless, there’s a suspicion his development then plateaus.
Pink Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has set an unambiguous goal for Lawson, who “ought to be inside three-tenths of Max in each qualifying and the race,” together with contributing the factors wanted to win the constructors’ championship and the expectation “he must also steadily improve his efficiency – if attainable.” These are broadly the identical set of aims Gasly, Albon and Perez failed to attain, for whereas Perez contributed to constructors’ titles in 2022 and ’23, these had been in seasons the place Pink Bull had a big efficiency benefit. When it was shut in ’21 and ’24, he price it. Lawson’s problem is to keep away from being a weak hyperlink.
Marko additionally claims Lawson’s “psychological power tipped the scales.” Whereas he and Pink Bull staff principal Christian Horner aren’t all the time on the identical web page relating to the decision-making course of, they’re aligned right here.
“What has actually stood out with him has been his perspective and his skill to cope with stress,”says Horner. “All of the rookies seemed a bit of bit like rookies in Brazil [in the wet]. Liam didn’t drop the automobile, he didn’t make any errors. He’s seemed a seasoned campaigner. When you take a look at his performances, he’s agile as nicely. We put him in a DTM automobile for a 12 months alongside Alex Albon; he was very fast. He races exhausting, and he’s received broad shoulders. You want that to be in that seat.
“Liam has received the best character to have the ability to deal with the stress of being Max’s teammate and the expectations on him are very clear. We’re not anticipating him to beat Max, Max is a generational expertise. The target is to get as shut as he can and bag as many factors as he can, in order that we don’t have a 285-point deficit between the automobiles.”
Pink Bull’s management insists that it’s not blind to the dangers of pairing the comparatively unseasoned Lawson with Verstappen, however believes the Kiwi’s psychological power will assist him succeed the place others struggled. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Photographs
This sounds promising and it’s conceivable Lawson might settle into this function comfortably, changing into Eddie Irvine to Verstappen’s Michael Schumacher. When Irvine signed as much as be Schumacher’s teammate, he knew it was as quantity two and really publicly embraced it, ending his four-year stint at Maranello with a quartet of grand prix wins and an unsuccessful tilt on the world championship in ’99. However Irvine is a rarity; extra usually the psychology is that of the usurper – doubly so because the “grasp and apprentice” method that after held sway in grand prix racing pale away a long time in the past.
Lawson will say all the best issues and head into a troublesome season along with his eyes open. Intellectually, he’ll embrace the mission of being Verstappen’s wing man, however he will probably be conflicted. Racing drivers, at the least those who make it to this stage on benefit, are aggressive beasts normally with the utter conviction they’ll beat anybody. Their careers are constructed upon the expectation they’ll get within the automobile and be sooner, higher, extra profitable than each driver they face. The conviction may be whittled away at by time for world-weary campaigners, however not somebody of Lawson’s age. There’s little question that his mentality gained’t simply be of being a very good quantity two – deep down, he’ll imagine he can depose Verstappen.
Lawson is an abrasive competitor and in his six 2024 outings earned himself a repute for being a troublesome rival in wheel-to-wheel fight. Whereas happenstance meant he usually crossed paths with Perez, there’s no query he knew the importance of battles with the motive force he was in competition to switch. Fairly than being cowed by this, he backed himself and wasn’t afraid of risking irritating his paymasters by displaying that this was his time. Marko, specifically, may have beloved this method.
Verstappen is a very totally different proposition to Perez, however Lawson will see him as simply one other skittle to be knocked down in his profession development. The simplest quantity two drivers are normally those that don’t know – or moderately haven’t accepted –that is their lot in life. Valtteri Bottas exemplified this at Mercedes, coming again yearly decided to barge Lewis Hamilton out of his staff chief function and repeatedly failing. Ideally, you need a driver who can preserve dusting themselves down and get again up once more as a result of they’ll get the most effective from themselves and preserve their teammate on their toes. However this may’t final endlessly and ultimately such resolve is eroded.
The impact might be delayed for Lawson given he maybe can hark again to the outdated days of studying from a star driver because of Verstappen being courted by rival groups forward of a attainable transfer away from Pink Bull. Had been that to occur for ’26 then Lawson can fulfill himself by being shut sufficient this 12 months to be seen as a reputable staff chief sooner or later. Nonetheless, that’s a slender set of circumstances, contingent on elements outdoors of his management.
Each empire falls. Nice drivers seem like omnipotent entities who will eternally prevail, till abruptly someday they don’t seem to be. They survive assault from numerous rivals however ultimately, for no matter cause, will probably be deposed. Lawson should imagine he may be that agent of change as a result of that comes with the territory of his sturdy mindset, which will probably be based upon the understanding he may be higher than anybody.
Objectively, that is massively formidable and there’s no cause to imagine Lawson can pull it off. In reality, the proof of his profession factors to a driver who is sweet moderately than nice – which means he has the flexibility to have an extended and achieved grand prix profession, however not a Verstappen-beating one. Nonetheless, the mentality of drivers shouldn’t be, and in some ways can not, be so goal by way of placing a ceiling on their potential. In the event that they did, would any ever set foot on the trail to F1, given the ludicrously lengthy odds of constructing it?
Verstappen’s reign will finish sooner or later. Lawson will probably be privately backing himself to hurry that course of alongside. Pink Bull Content material Pool
Let’s say Lawson does do higher than that three-tenths deficit and by some means begins pushing Verstappen, then he will probably be minded to maneuver in for the kill. This implies all of the qualities which have helped him get there might turn into an issue for Pink Bull – the killer intuition, the self-confidence, the strong mentality. Unlikely as it’s, it’s not totally unattainable.
The corollary is he experiences what virtually each driver does ultimately – the psychological battering of being instantly in comparison with somebody emphatically higher than you. Subsequently, Pink Bull wants Lawson to string the needle – he must be shut sufficient to contribute with out being an issue however not fall into confusion and despondency. Verstappen teammates have a behavior of getting misplaced, and if that occurs it’s a tough wilderness to seek out your means out of. The draw back of a rock-solid mentality is, in case you are destabilized, you possibly can fall far and rapidly.
Pink Bull has determined Lawson is the most effective candidate for the job, or at the least from amongst its current secure. You may argue it’s making the identical outdated mistake by swinging again to selling an inexperienced younger driver, operating a danger of a repeat of the failure of Gasly and Albon. Horner is smart sufficient to just accept there’s a danger of this, however once more argues Lawson is totally different.
“The hazard is there’s a repeat of that, however Liam is a special character,” says Horner. “He’s a special character, capable of cope with the stress. He’s proven an actual resilience and power of character with the chance that’s been offered. And he drives the automobile similarly to Max, he doesn’t shrink back from having a really constructive entrance finish within the automobile. So by way of driving traits, it is going to be simpler for the automobiles to run extra intently collectively in set-up.”
Horner’s level about driving fashion is necessary as too usually its quantity twos have turn into misplaced in set-up experiments. A driver’s tolerances outline how one can develop and run a automobile and Verstappen, like Schumacher, likes a sharp automobile on turn-in. The quickest automobile theoretically will all the time have that instability on turn-in however requires the motive force to have a really exact really feel and talent to proactively management the rear.
Verstappen was confounded at instances final 12 months when restricted by understeer as a result of it imposed an easier-to-access however decrease restrict of the automobile. Nonetheless, the query is whether or not Lawson actually can match that fashion. He does wish to push the rotation within the entries and due to this fact a rear finish with a level of instability, however he should keep away from falling into the entice of attempting to attain that with late braking. Gasly suffered from that, usually braking later than Verstappen, affected by under-rotation because of this, then complaining of a scarcity of traction in nook exits as a result of he was successfully driving an extended nook.
Lawson will be taught lots from Verstappen, not solely by way of find out how to be fast but additionally the artwork of tire administration. It’s unclear simply how robust a problem he’ll face this season given it stays to be seen how aggressive Pink Bull is after its 2024 troubles. However one factor is for certain – Lawson heads into the brand new season with absolute confidence and a certainty that he gained’t articulate publicly that he may be the one to defeat Verstappen.
Lawson would by no means have made it this far if he didn’t. However for all of Pink Bull’s confidence in him, there’s no means of figuring out how he’ll actually reply to what can be a punishing scenario for many drivers. His psychological power won’t ever have been examined like this earlier than and given it’s vanishingly unlikely he’ll be capable of ship on the hopes of usurping F1’s prime canine, which might deliver its personal issues, even Lawson gained’t actually know the way he’ll stand as much as it.
All we will know for positive is that proper now, earlier than the truth of the battle units in, he will probably be quietly assured that he can flip this tough alternative right into a career-making one. And that basic reality implies that if, or extra realistically when, he can’t, no one is aware of how he’ll reply.
