It’s starting to look all too familiar: another Red Bull driver buckling under the weight of driving alongside Max Verstappen. This time, the pressure is crushing Liam Lawson, whose latest qualifying disaster at the Chinese Grand Prix adds to a painful debut season.
In Friday’s sprint shootout at Shanghai International Circuit, Lawson was dead last—1.5 seconds off pace-setter Lewis Hamilton and miles from what’s expected in a Red Bull car. A moment at Turn 10 forced him to abort his flying lap in SQ1, sealing his fate before the session had really begun.
From Q1 exit to last place
This follows a miserable weekend in Australia, where Lawson was knocked out in Q1 and later crashed out of the race entirely. Practice sessions have been equally shaky, including gravel excursions that hint at a driver still far from settled.
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Lawson now faces Saturday’s sprint from the back of the grid, joined by Jack Doohan, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, and Nico Hülkenberg in the bottom five. But for the New Zealander, the stakes are higher. He’s in the seat many young drivers dream of and few survive in.
Red Bull’s second-seat curse
Red Bull’s second seat has become a revolving door of broken momentum and rising doubts. From Pierre Gasly to Alex Albon and now potentially Lawson, no one has yet managed to hold their own next to Verstappen. Every error, every crash, and every slow lap becomes another argument against long-term faith in the number two car.
There was hope Lawson, who impressed during fill-in duties last season, might finally be the one to break the trend. But two disastrous weekends into 2025, the narrative is shifting fast.
And unless he turns things around soon, Lawson might just be another name on Red Bull’s growing list of could-have-beens.
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