Following a challenging weekend in Shanghai, Liam Lawson has brushed off concerns that the pressures from the Red Bull team might negatively affect his performance. He emphasized that what’s really needed is for him to ramp up his speed on the track.
Saturday’s qualifying session didn’t go well for Lawson, as he ended up at the bottom of the rankings despite a seemingly trouble-free session. Due to his struggles, Red Bull decided to tweak the suspension on his RB21, which led to him starting from the pit lane. Choosing hard tires to kick off the race, he soon found himself pitting earlier than planned. This choice necessitated a second pit stop, ultimately resulting in a slower strategy and leaving him to finish in P15.
Lawson pointed out that Red Bull took a strategic risk by implementing a new setup for the 56-lap race in Shanghai. Unfortunately, these changes only heightened the instability of his car.
“It was a pretty tough situation,” Lawson recounted. “Starting from the pitlane, we attempted something new, which was a bit of a gamble to get a handle on the car’s setup. We aimed for an aggressive strategy, but it didn’t pan out as hoped. It was a significant shift, but we struggled with speed, and frankly, the car felt trickier than it did in Melbourne.
Reflecting on the sprint race performance, Lawson mentioned, “Our pace was better in the Sprint yesterday. This car operates within a very narrow window, and if you miss it, you’re really penalized. The more we drive, the more we experiment, and while we’re learning from it, today just wasn’t in our favor.”
After assessing his performance in the first two races of the 2025 F1 season, Lawson expressed the need to extract the maximum potential from his car. He dismissed the notion that pressure at Red Bull was behind his slow start.
“I just need to drive this car faster,” he stated. “It’s not about external pressure—the team has been incredibly supportive. This track is unique, but we’ll review and learn from this experience moving forward.”
He noted, “Unfortunately, I don’t really have time to ease into it, but I need to get the hang of it quickly. Testing isn’t an option since we’re already deep into the season, and every race costs us points. That’s what I mean by not having time.”
“But I’m also not oblivious to the fact that I need to deliver results. If I don’t perform, I won’t last long in this environment. My main focus is adapting to the car as swiftly as possible.”
