Former Haas Components 1 boss Guenther Steiner believes Liam Lawson suffered a disastrous begin to the 2025 season as a result of he couldn’t deal with the strain of being a Purple Bull driver.
Lawson struggled a lot with the RB21 in Australia and China that Purple Bull made a dramatic choice to interchange him with Yuki Tsunoda for the rest of the season.
The power drinks big had excessive hopes from the Kiwi after he carried out nicely throughout 11 appearances with AlphaTauri/RB in 2023/24, however he certified nineteenth for the season opener in Australia after which crashed out of the primary race in moist circumstances.
With Lawson displaying little progress in China, the place he set the slowest time in each qualifying classes and completed a distant twelfth within the race, the administration concluded that he wanted to spend extra time at Racing Bulls.
Whereas the RB21 has proved to be an extremely tough automobile to drive, the 23-year-old was over a second slower than teammate Max Verstappen in Melbourne qualifying and 0.75s down on the Dutchman in Q1 at Melbourne.
Steiner thinks Lawson underperformed within the opening two rounds of the season as a result of he put an excessive amount of strain on himself after becoming a member of Purple Bull, citing his earlier F1 file within the midfield as proof that he’s able to producing strong outcomes.
“If Liam Lawson could be going constantly in Q2 or typically Q3, [then it would be a different story],” Steiner instructed The Purple Flags Podcast. “It is solely three qualifyings, however he by no means made it out of Q1. And the opposite man [Verstappen] is at all times within the prime 4. It is bizarre.
“He can’t beat [Verstappen], it is totally comprehensible, however he’s a second slower. A second.
“When Checo was there final 12 months, when he was a half a second off, we have been all devastated, ‘How can he be half a second off?’
He added: “I believe it’s a Liam Lawson drawback. If you’re half a second slower than your teammate, you’re already rather a lot slower, however being over a second, it is a [huge] distinction.
“I do not know what’s [at the root of the issue] as a result of once they put Liam Lawson put within the Racing Bulls, he did an excellent job – he did a decent job. So no difficulty there.
“However stepping into there [Red Bull], he simply can’t do it. Possibly he put an excessive amount of strain on himself. Possibly that is what it’s – an excessive amount of strain.”
Lawson had by no means raced on the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne earlier than 2025, whereas his solely expertise on the Shanghai Worldwide Circuit got here throughout an Asian F3 marketing campaign in 2018.
Furthermore, the Australian GP was closely affected by rain, whereas the China weekend ran to the dash format, limiting drivers to a single apply session on Friday.
Steiner believes Purple Bull ought to have waited till the Japanese GP earlier than making a call, as Lawson has current expertise driving at Suzuka in each F1 and Tremendous Components equipment.
“He has by no means raced in Australia, by no means raced in China, however let him go to Japan,” mentioned Steiner.
“He is aware of the race observe, no less than you understand how good he’s. There’s not that excuse anymore, or that unknown. He is aware of Suzuka. He drove there in Tremendous Components that are very quick automobiles.
“If he can do it there, no less than he has bought the hope. If he does not get it performed in Japan, it is time to change.”
Excessive expectations from Tsunoda
After Purple Bull determined to cancel Sergio Perez’s contract on the finish of final 12 months as a consequence of poor outcomes, it confronted a alternative between Lawson and Tsunoda for 2025.
Lawson was initially given the nod regardless of his restricted expertise in F1, however Purple Bull has now determined to offer Tsunoda an opportunity at its flagship staff.
Steiner believes Tsunoda may very well be on the tempo immediately at Purple Bull, having been impressed by how he has matured as a driver after a careless begin to his grand prix profession in 2021
“I believe he’ll take it into Q3,” Steiner mentioned of Tsunoda. “Yuki for the time being is doing good. He’s doing excellent in my view.
“Yuki was at first slightly little bit of a multitude, to say the least. However now I believe he has bought his act collectively, he’s fast, and constant. Within the final races there was at all times a problem. In Australia and China, there have been technique points and in China the wing broke.
“Then you definately additionally discover how good Yuki Tsunoda is in a Purple Bull. In the mean time it does not look like he’s at Purple Bull subsequent 12 months, but when he’s doing an excellent job there subsequent 12 months, perhaps he will likely be there. Give him the possibility, you don’t have anything to lose.”
