Outside Line: Liam Lawson has the eye of a tiger

Nevertheless, Lawson's a big gamble for Red Bull, and I like him a lot. I have a hunch about him and see something special in the kid. Call it the eye of a tiger. He's not scared to pick fights, irrespective of who it is, and he shows a certain grit that reminds me of most recently Oscar Piastri and many of those Antipodeans who have come up and done so well in our sport.

The good feeling about Lawson is perhaps also influenced by optimism. As mentioned above, "a hunch" rather than anything factual to go by. If any driver deserved the upward shove to the lion's den, it was Yuki Tsunoda. He paid his dues. He's raced more for the RBR junior team than any other.

Yet, after only 11 races of assessing Lawson at VCARB, Red Bull saw something in the entire 'package' that gave them the confidence to thrust the 22-year-old New Zealander into the hottest seat in Formula 1. How he will 'swim' against the fastest and most ruthless fish in the pond remains to be seen.

Whatever the case, Red Bull owes him time and lots of it. The folly of the Daniel Ricciardo waste of precious experience, when the seat should have gone to Lawson from the beginning of this season, as the Australian was well past his sell by date.

Red Bull is signalling that Lawson is their future. I doubt Max will be with Red Bull beyond the 2026 Formula 1 season if they do not provide him with a winning car from the moment the new rules package becomes a reality.

To be honest, I'm surprised he's lasted this long. Equally surprised that Ferrari broke the bank to scoop Lewis Hamilton and not the Dutch ace. In choosing Lawson Red Bull bosses, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner stated that on the evidence they have, the Kiwi is the best of their pool of drivers to handle the pressure that has destroyed every driver that has come to share the garage.

Verstappen, of course, was going to want Perez to stay on. He was no threat at all. But in Lawson, he'll have a young driver who will perhaps test him for the first time, and that is the hope. That is what I kind of detect in Lawson. He's going there to flex his muscles and not to play second fiddle to Verstappen.

So really, what does Lawson have to do? Does he have to beat Verstappen? No. But in every session, FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3, Sprint, and race, he's got to be right there a tenth or two from Max all the time. That's a big ask.

Ask anyone who Max has destroyed in their team. Daniel Ricciardo, to start with, shied away from taking Verstappen on as his teammate at Red Bull, which ultimately torpedoed the Australian's F1 career. Add to the list of drivers destroyed: Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and now Sergio Perez.

But that's Lawson's plight. The first course of action for him in his first serious full season as a Red Bull driver is to just be as close to Max as possible.

Thus we have already another salubrious contest between teammates that will have Netflix salivating as the young gun of Red Bull's future takes on the four-time F1 World Champion.

Lawson's template is 27-year-old Verstappen's career, which began by sending Ricciardo packing before becoming the team's main man. Can the 22-year-old New Zealander make history repeat itself? It's hard to imagine, but hope is what Formula 1 is all about. Step up, Liam Lawson; it's your time to shine.