Lawson must accept Verstappen is 'unbeatable'

Mar.12 (GMM) Liam Lawson needs to head into the 2025 acknowledging that his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen is “unbeatable”.

That’s the view and advice of the team’s powerful advisor Dr Helmut Marko, after Red Bull finally ousted Sergio Perez for poor performance and replaced him with 23-year-old Lawson for this season.

As Verstappen still managed to win the drivers’ title, Perez’s form cost Red Bull the 2024 constructors’ title.

“Our employees are paid bonuses based on our place in the constructors’ championship,” Marko told Servus TV. “There are tiers, and we are talking about decent amounts here.

“There was definitely disappointment in the factory when we only finished third behind McLaren and Ferrari.”

However, Marko makes no secret of the fact that Verstappen is the clear ‘number 1′. “The drivers’ title,” the Austrian answered when asked which championship matters most to Red Bull.

“Red Bull is not a car manufacturer. For us, the person is the most important thing.”

And so, the expectation on Lawson’s shoulders is to get within a few tenths of Verstappen and – in Marko’s words – dutifully serve as a “points collector”.

He says the young New Zealander has delivered a new energy to Red Bull in Perez’s wake.

“There is a completely different atmosphere in the team now,” revealed the 81-year-old. “We have a new wave of enthusiasm. Liam is still young and full of enthusiasm.”

However, Marko says Lawson should curb that enthusiasm somewhat.

“He has to find his own way of working, and not think “How can I beat Max?’ That was the mistake of his predecessors, who all failed,” he said.

“They simply couldn’t accept that they were driving against someone who is unbeatable. Verstappen is unbeatable at the moment, and I think that will remain the case for the time being.”

Marko tips Lawson to meet the challenge and find his way in the sister garage.

“Liam is a very down-to-earth person. New Zealanders are often very down-to-earth like that, and that’s why we preferred him over Yuki Tsunoda,” he said.

As for Lawson, he will certainly be hoping his mission alongside Verstappen lasts long enough for him to establish a firm place on the Formula 1 grid.

He revealed to GQ magazine that his parents sold their house to fund his rise through the junior ranks. “They still don’t own a house,” said Lawson, “because of me.”