Liam Lawson: How the fans got it right and Red Bull got it wrong - Opinion

Liam Lawson's short stint in the top Red Bull team ended after the Chinese Grand Prix. Photo / Mark Thompson, Red Bull

THREE KEY FACTS

• Liam Lawson has been demoted by Red Bull after just two races.
• The Kiwi has made way for stablemate Yuki Tsunoda.
• Lawson returns to Racing Bulls after spending time there in 2023 and 2024.

Instead of giving you wings, Red Bull Racing now seems to be winging it.

According to the Collins dictionary, to “wing it” means attempting to “perform something without full preparation or knowledge”.

A rather apt turn of phrase when it comes to the saga that is Liam Lawson's time with Red Bull Racing over the past month.

Being offered the chance to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing is motorsport’s poisoned chalice.

For a young driver, it appears to be a case of you’re doomed if you do (try to drive the undrivable RB21 race car). And, of course, you’re doomed if you don’t (by turning around and saying to Christian Horner, “thanks but no thanks, I’ll stay where I am”).

Even Verstappen is struggling in the RB21.

Lawson is just another headstone in the graveyard of Verstappen teammates who have been buried trying to drive that car.

I’m sure in an open and honest conversation Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez would have some sharp words to say about the second car at Red Bull Racing.

Liam Lawson loses his drive at Red Bull. Illustration / Paul Slater

Something that has been a bit glossed over among all the “how bad the handling of Lawson has been” is the fact the RB21 is the first Red Bull car that the undisputed king of race car designs, Adrian Newey, had nothing to do with since 2007.

Newey has won 12 constructors titles, and 13 drivers at his teams have bagged world championships.

In an Instagram post last year, Horner was quoted as saying: “This will be the first time that Adrian [Newey] has had absolutely no input on the car, it will be up to the team to rise to that challenge.

“I am confident they can do it. They have strength and depth, and we will see what the RB21 looks like when it is launched at the end of January. There’s confidence in Red Bull engineers ...”

I wonder what he’s thinking now. Some of the comments to that post were priceless and a couple of the posters will be smiling smugly.

“I think the car will be s*** as f***,” said one. Another observed that Lawson “doesn’t know the s*** hole he’s jumped in”.

We can all roll our eyes at anonymous keyboard warriors on social media, but sometimes the fans have more of a handle on things than the pundits.

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda at the 2024 Brazil Grand Prix. Photo / Red Bull

Good on Tsunoda for being the sixth driver to step up to the plate to have a go at taming the RB21.

While a solid mid-pack performer, Tsunoda is no Verstappen. The Dutchman has an almost ethereal talent, even when he’s struggling with a car.

This weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix will be a must-watch for those who are fans – and also for those who have a morbid curiosity.

The bandages have well and truly been ripped off Red Bull Racing and the organisation is not looking too good.

Since Dietrich Mateschitz, one of the founders of Red Bull and the driving force behind its involvement in motorsport, headed off to the great race track in the sky, Red Bull Racing has slowly been imploding.

The team has always had a reputation for churning and burning young drivers who don’t deliver straight away, but now it seems to be cannibalising itself.

Netflix could make an entire series on the saga: “Drive to Survive ... Being No 2 at Red Bull”.