Herbert: Lawson not 100 per cent worthy of the Red Bull seat

While Herbert questions whether Lawson has fully earned his place to be a Red Bull driver instead of Yuki Tsunoda, he also believes that Max Verstappen's new 22-year-old teammate may not be a pushover.

On Thursday, a day after Lawson's first day at work, in Milton Keynes, as a Red Bull driver, Herbert commented: “I don't think Liam Lawson has proven himself 100 per cent worthy of the Red Bull seat because, in my old ways, it's always about how you do against your teammates and in his time at RB, he didn't blow away Yuki Tsunoda."

The three-time Grand Prix winner added: “Tsunoda was always mighty quick when it came down to qualifying. There was a nice synergy between the two, I suppose. But the dominant force is always someone who can jump into a team, lead it, and then grow from there. That’s the position Lawson is in now, going up against Max Verstappen. He’s probably a level or two above Tsunoda, but he must now elevate his game to a much stronger level in 2025.”

Lawson’s promotion comes as Red Bull seeks to reset its lineup after Sergio Perez’s struggles in 2024. Perez’s once-strong form faded last season, costing Red Bull the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren. The Mexican driver was dropped a year before his contract ended, marking the latest chapter in Verstappen’s history of overshadowing teammates, including Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and now Perez.

Herbert warned that Verstappen’s dominance makes being his teammate a daunting challenge, saying: “Lawson has to come out of the blocks quickly because as soon as Verstappen feels he's in control of the on-track activities, the speed that he has, and then the mental battles will start to come into play. Has he got the ingredients to race up against Verstappen? I think he has. But now we've just got to see it.”

As Verstappen chases a fifth consecutive F1 Drivers’ Championship in 2025, Herbert doesn’t anticipate any change in the Dutchman’s aggressive driving style: “I don’t think Max Verstappen will drive any more aggressively than he does already. The amount of aggression we see at the moment is probably as much as he will deal out.”

Herbert compared Verstappen’s approach to legendary F1 champions: “It’s intimidation. Verstappen has everything he’s done, similar to Michael Schumacher’s intimidation, or Ayrton Senna’s. Drivers like Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen, and Sebastian Vettel all had that ability to shine even when things were difficult.”

With just 11 races under his belt during his stints with AlphaTauri and VCARB, Red Bull’s decision to choose Lawson over the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda (87 Grands Prix starts) reflects the team’s confidence in the New Zealander’s potential.

Herbert emphasised the pressure Lawson will face in 2025, saying: “You’re always under pressure to prove yourself. It’s always that.”

With a mandate from Helmut Marko to be within 0.3s of Verstappen, time will tell if Lawson can rise to the challenge or join the list of Verstappen’s fallen teammates remains to be seen, whatever the case Red Bull’s latest gamble will trigger many headlines in the future.