When Purple Bull determined who to go Formulation 1’s poisoned chalice to for 2025, one issue outweighed all others in deciding on Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen’s teammate. Efficiency mattered, however extra essential was the strong mindset required to thrive the place his predecessors have failed. It’s a logical criterion to prioritize, however one doubtlessly resulting in different issues given the mentality intrinsic to any profitable racing driver.
It’s an exaggeration to say Verstappen is a career-killer given Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon rose once more in F1, albeit to diminished heights, whereas Sergio Perez is licking his wounds forward of a attainable return in 2026, however all of them sustained heavy harm from sharing a storage with him. Racing historical past is filled with succesful drivers made to look third-rate by direct comparability to an all-time nice, however Purple Bull believes – or maybe extra precisely, hopes – Lawson has what it takes to keep away from that destiny. The New Zealander, at 22 and with simply 11 grand prix begins sprinkled throughout two seasons below his belt, is seen as sufficiently broad-shouldered to hold the load of what has grow to be an unattainable task.
The query of an athlete’s mindset is far mentioned and widely known as a significant part of their sporting make-up, but it’s additionally poorly outlined and difficult to investigate and take a look at besides by means of trial by hearth in competitors. Lawson has proved he’s assured, carrying himself with an smug swagger typical of many top-level grand prix drivers each inside and out of doors of the automotive. His CV is gentle on titles – the 2019 Toyota Racing Sequence is his most illustrious championship win in vehicles – however consists of wins in any respect ranges. Typically, he begins strongly, which helps the notion he’s by no means overawed by a step up. Nevertheless, there’s a suspicion his development then plateaus.
Purple Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has set an unambiguous goal for Lawson, who “must be inside three-tenths of Max in each qualifying and the race”, together with contributing the factors wanted to win the constructors’ championship and the expectation “he also needs to steadily improve his efficiency – if attainable”. These are broadly the identical set of targets Gasly, Albon and Perez failed to attain, for whereas Perez contributed to constructors’ titles in 2022 and ’23, these had been in seasons the place Purple Bull had a big efficiency benefit. When it was shut in ’21 and ’24, he price it. Lawson’s problem is to keep away from being a weak hyperlink.
Marko additionally claims Lawson’s “psychological power tipped the scales”. Whereas he and Purple Bull group principal Christian Horner aren’t all the time on the identical web page relating to the decision-making course of, they’re aligned right here.
“What has actually stood out with him has been his angle and his means to cope with stress”, says Horner. “All of the rookies regarded just a little bit like rookies in Brazil [in the wet]. Liam didn’t drop the automotive, he didn’t make any errors. He’s regarded a seasoned campaigner. When you take a look at his performances, he’s agile as properly. We put him in a DTM automotive for a yr alongside Alex Albon; he was very fast. He races laborious, and he’s received broad shoulders. You want that to be in that seat.
“Liam has received the appropriate character to have the ability to address the stress of being Max’s teammate and the expectations on him are very clear. We’re not anticipating him to beat Max, Max is a generational expertise. The target is to get as shut as he can and bag as many factors as he can, in order that we don’t have a 285-point deficit between the vehicles.”
Purple Bull’s management insists that it’s not blind to the dangers of pairing the comparatively unseasoned Lawson with Verstappen, however believes the Kiwi’s psychological power will assist him succeed the place others struggled. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Pictures
This sounds promising and it’s conceivable Lawson may settle into this position comfortably, changing into Eddie Irvine to Verstappen’s Michael Schumacher. When Irvine signed as much as be Schumacher’s teammate, he knew it was as quantity two and really publicly embraced it, ending his four-year stint at Maranello with a quartet of grand prix wins and an unsuccessful tilt on the world championship in ’99. However Irvine is a rarity; extra typically the psychology is that of the usurper – doubly so for the reason that ‘grasp and apprentice’ method that when held sway in grand prix racing pale away a long time in the past.
Lawson will say all the appropriate issues and head into a troublesome season along with his eyes open. Intellectually, he’ll embrace the mission of being Verstappen’s wing man, however he will likely be conflicted. Racing drivers, at the least those who make it to this degree on advantage, are aggressive beasts normally with the utter conviction they’ll beat anybody. Their careers are constructed upon the expectation they’ll get within the automotive and be sooner, higher, extra profitable than each driver they face. The conviction could be whittled away at by time for world-weary campaigners, however not somebody of Lawson’s age. There’s little doubt that his mentality gained’t simply be of being quantity two – deep down, he’ll imagine he can depose Verstappen.
Lawson is an abrasive competitor and in his six 2024 outings earned himself a status for being a troublesome rival in wheel-to-wheel fight. Whereas happenstance meant he typically crossed paths with Perez, there’s no query he knew the importance of battles with the driving force he was in competition to switch. Somewhat than being cowed by this, he backed himself and wasn’t afraid of risking irritating his paymasters by displaying that this was his time. Marko, particularly, could have beloved this method.
Verstappen is a very completely different proposition to Perez, however Lawson will see him as simply one other skittle to be knocked down in his profession development. The best quantity two drivers are normally those that don’t know – or slightly haven’t accepted –that is their lot in life. Valtteri Bottas exemplified this at Mercedes, coming again yearly decided to barge Lewis Hamilton out of his group chief position and repeatedly failing. Ideally, you need a driver who can hold dusting themselves down and get again up once more as a result of they’ll get the most effective from themselves and hold their teammate on their toes. However this will’t final without end and finally such resolve is eroded.
The impact could possibly be delayed for Lawson given he maybe can hark again to the previous days of studying from a star driver because of Verstappen being courted by rival groups forward of a attainable transfer away from Purple Bull. Have been that to occur for ’26 then Lawson can fulfill himself by being shut sufficient this yr to be seen as a reputable group chief sooner or later. Nevertheless, that’s a slim set of circumstances, contingent on components exterior of his management.
Each empire falls. Nice drivers seem like omnipotent entities who will eternally prevail, till all of the sudden at some point they aren’t. They survive assault from numerous rivals however finally, for no matter motive, will likely be deposed. Lawson should imagine he could be that agent of change as a result of that comes with the territory of his robust mindset, which will likely be based upon the understanding he could be higher than anybody.
Objectively, that is massively bold and there’s no motive to imagine Lawson can pull it off. In truth, the proof of his profession factors to a driver who is nice slightly than nice – that means he has the flexibility to have an extended and achieved grand prix profession, however not a Verstappen-beating one. Nevertheless, the mentality of drivers is just not, and in some ways can not, be so goal when it comes to placing a ceiling on their potential. In the event that they did, would any ever set foot on the trail to F1, given the ludicrously lengthy odds of creating it?
Verstappen’s reign will finish in some unspecified time in the future. Lawson will likely be privately backing himself to hurry that course of alongside. Purple Bull Content material Pool
Let’s say Lawson does do higher than that three-tenths deficit and someway begins pushing Verstappen, then he will likely be minded to maneuver in for the kill. This implies all of the qualities which have helped him get there may grow to be an issue for Purple Bull – the killer intuition, the self-confidence, the strong mentality. Unlikely as it’s, it’s not fully unattainable.
The corollary is he experiences what virtually each driver does finally – the psychological battering of being instantly in comparison with somebody emphatically higher than you. Subsequently, Purple Bull wants Lawson to string the needle – he must be shut sufficient to contribute with out being an issue however not fall into confusion and despondency. Verstappen teammates have a behavior of getting misplaced, and if that occurs it’s a troublesome wilderness to seek out your approach out of. The draw back of a rock-solid mentality is, in case you are destabilized, you possibly can fall far and shortly.
Purple Bull has determined Lawson is the most effective candidate for the job, or at the least from amongst its present secure. You can argue it’s making the identical previous mistake by swinging again to selling an inexperienced younger driver, working a threat of a repeat of the failure of Gasly and Albon. Horner is sensible sufficient to just accept there’s a threat of this, however once more argues Lawson is completely different.
“The hazard is there’s a repeat of that, however Liam is a special character,” says Horner. “He’s a special persona, capable of cope with the stress. He’s proven an actual resilience and power of character with the chance that’s been supplied. And he drives the automotive similarly to Max, he doesn’t shrink back from having a really optimistic entrance finish within the automotive. So when it comes to driving traits, will probably be simpler for the vehicles to run extra intently collectively in set-up.”
Horner’s level about driving fashion is essential as too typically its quantity twos have grow to be misplaced in set-up experiments. A driver’s tolerances outline how one can develop and run a automotive and Verstappen, like Schumacher, likes a sharp automotive on turn-in. The quickest automotive theoretically will all the time have that instability on turn-in however requires the driving force to have a really exact really feel and talent to proactively management the rear.
Verstappen was confounded at occasions final yr when restricted by understeer as a result of it imposed an easier-to-access however decrease restrict of the automotive. Nevertheless, the query is whether or not Lawson actually can match that fashion. He does wish to push the rotation within the entries and due to this fact a rear finish with a level of instability, however he should keep away from falling into the entice of attempting to attain that with late braking. Gasly suffered from that, typically braking later than Verstappen, affected by under-rotation in consequence, then complaining of an absence of traction in nook exits as a result of he was successfully driving an extended nook.
Lawson will be taught lots from Verstappen, not solely when it comes to methods to be fast but additionally the artwork of tire administration. It’s unclear simply how robust a problem he’ll face this season given it stays to be seen how aggressive Purple Bull is after its 2024 troubles. However one factor is for certain – Lawson heads into the brand new season with absolute confidence and a certainty that he gained’t articulate publicly that he could be the one to defeat Verstappen.
Lawson would by no means have made it this far if he didn’t. However for all of Purple Bull’s confidence in him, there’s no approach of realizing how he’ll actually reply to what could be a punishing scenario for many drivers. His psychological power won’t ever have been examined like this earlier than and given it’s vanishingly unlikely he’ll have the ability to ship on the hopes of usurping F1’s prime canine, which might convey its personal issues, even Lawson gained’t actually know the way he’ll stand as much as it.
All we will know for certain is that proper now, earlier than the truth of the battle units in, he will likely be quietly assured that he can flip this troublesome alternative right into a career-making one. And that elementary reality signifies that if, or extra realistically when, he can’t, no person is aware of how he’ll reply.
