F1
Being Max Verstappen’s team-mate is the toughest job in motorsport. So how will Liam Lawson keep pace with the four-time F1 World Champion? Let’s look at the men who’ve already been there...
Liam Lawson is the sixth driver to partner with Max Verstappen, and with just 11 Grands Prix starts under his belt, he is also the least experienced. But in those 11 races, including deputizing for Daniel Ricciardo before replacing the popular Australian for Racing Bulls, the New Zealander has shown himself to be quick and confident, mixing it wheel-to-wheel with the best on track.
While he might lack F1 experience, the Kiwi’s performances in Super Formula in Japan and DTM in Europe also speak to his versatility behind the wheel. At the same time, he will be judged again as the most talented driver of his generation and a four-time F1 World Champion. Verstappen has seen off five team-mates all of whom are capable team leaders and even race winners in other outfits.
For Red Bull Racing, the brief is fairly simple: they want a driver who scores consistently enough that they will win back the Constructors’ World Championship and who can keep pace with Verstappen on track as the Dutchman goes after his fifth world title. The reality is that Lawson has to get to grips with the new RB21 while adjusting to life in a new team and with a new team-mate. “If I’m buried down the bottom of the field then I’m not doing a good enough job, obviously. So I think the expectation is to just be close, but I think there’s also an understanding that starting the season, there’s a lot to learn quickly, especially these new tracks.”
But at least Ricciardo is in his corner. Despite replacing the Aussie at Racing Bulls, Ricciardo has been supportive of the 23-year-old. Lawson says: “When I got the Red Bull seat, Daniel is still the only driver, past or present, to send me a message about it, congratulating me. It says a lot about him as a person.”
So let’s look at the drivers who have been there before Lawson to see what he’s up against.
01
Carlos Sainz
- Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Grands Prix: 56 (23 teamed with Max)
- Best Grid Position: 5 (x1)
- Highest Finish: 4 (x1)
- Points scored: 112
The rivalry between Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen was always fierce. When they made their F1 debuts for Scuderia Toro Rosso at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, it was sharpened by the fact that both men knew they were competing for a seat with Red Bull Racing. Meanwhile, the occupant of that seat, Daniil Kvyat, knew he had to deliver to retain his place in the garage opposite Ricciardo. All four had arrived in F1 via the Red Bull Junior Team and knew each other well. In 2015, the two brought a record haul of points back to Faenza, with 49 coming from Verstappen – with two eye-catching fourth places – and 18 from Sainz. After a difficult home race for Kvyat at the 2016 Russian Grand Prix, Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull Racing for the Spanish Grand Prix, where he took his first F1 victory. Ricciardo had a new team-mate…
02
Daniel Ricciardo
- Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Grands Prix: 39
- Best Grid Position: 5 (x1)
- Highest Finish: 7 (x2)
- Points scored: 30
- Team: Red Bull Racing
- Grands Prix: 100 (58 teamed with Max)
- Best Grid Position: 1 (x3)
- Highest Finish: 1 (x7)
- Points scored: 956
The popular and outgoing Daniel Ricciardo was more like a big brother to Max Verstappen than a rival, helping the teenager to adjust to life in the public eye. As team-mates from 2016-2018, both men pushed each other to deliver on track. Ricciardo is the only team-mate to beat Verstappen, and he did it twice in their first two campaigns together, with the Australian finishing third overall in the championship in 2016. But in 2018, the Dutchman found another level and pulled comfortably ahead, claiming 11 podiums to Ricciardo’s two. With visions of a future as a number two driver, the Australian opted to move on and replaced Sainz at Renault and later at McLaren before returning to Faenza.
03
Pierre Gasly
- Team: Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri
- Grands Prix: 96
- Best Grid Position: 2 (x1)
- Highest Finish: 1 (x1)
- Points scored: 268
- Team: Red Bull Racing
- Grands Prix: 12
- Best Grid Position: 4 (x1)
- Highest Finish: 4 (x1)
- Points scored: 64
Pierre Gasly impressed with the Red Bull Junior Team – he is its most successful driver in the feeder series – and, on moving up to F1, proved his pace at Toro Rosso. But Gasly needed to hit the ground running and score solid points when he stepped up to Red Bull Racing in 2019. The Frenchman struggled to get to grips with the RB15. A big personality and a skilled racer, Ricciardo’s racing boots were a lot to fill, and with Mercedes running away with both championships, Red Bull Racing needed a points-scoring front-runner to partner Verstappen – and couldn’t wait for Gasly to gel. After 12 Grands Prix, Gasly was back in Faenza. That could have proven derailed most drivers’ careers but the likeable Frenchman dug deep and rediscovered his mojo, finishing second behind his former team-mate Verstappen at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. In 2021, he scored the Italian outfit’s second Grand Prix win on home soil in Monza – or the first and only for the rebranded AlphaTauri Racing. Having proven himself again, he moved to Alpine.
04
Alex Albon
- Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Grands Prix: 12
- Best Grid Position: 9 (x1)
- Highest Finish: 6 (x1)
- Points scored: 16
- Team: Red Bull Racing
- Grands Prix: 26
- Best Grid Position: 4 (x4)
- Highest Finish: 3 (x2)
- Points scored: 197
Alex Albon and Max Verstappen knew each other from their days in karting. In 2010, Albon beat Verstappen to the KF3 World Cup (a young Pierre Gasly was fourth), although Verstappen beat him in the WSK Euro Series and won the WSK World Series. He graduated from the Red Bull Junior Team to F1 in 2019 – the first Thai driver since Prince Bira in 1954 – and after just 12 starts with Toro Rosso, replaced Gasly at Red Bull Racing halfway through the season. Hardworking and humble, he consistently delivered points. If there was a problem, it was that the podium eluded Albon for all but two of his 26 races for Red Bull Racing while Verstappen continued to improve, widening the gulf between them. The team began to look for a driver who could help bring 1-2 finishes, win races and act as a rear-gunner for Verstappen in the title race. For the 2021 season, Albon was switched to Reserve and Test driver in favour of Pérez. Albon took it in his stride by performing crucial work in the sim to prepare the cars and strategies that helped Verstappen claim his first world crown. Albon also mentored Yuki Tsunoda and raced alongside Lawson in DTM before moving to fresh pastures with Williams.
05
Sergio Pérez
- Team: Red Bull Racing
- Grands Prix: 90
- Best Grid Position: 1 (x3)
- Highest Finish: 1 (x5)
- Points scored: 932
Having promoted two young drivers to partner Max Verstappen for 2021, Red Bull Racing decided on a new strategy and brought in the finished article. In Sergio Pérez, they had a driver who had been racing for 10 seasons. He had a record of 11 podiums, including one race win, and as a team leader, had helped guide Force India into a new era as first Racing Point and now Aston Martin. In his four championship campaigns with Red Bull Racing, he finished fourth, third and second in the title race. In 2023, he played his part in delivering the most dominant team campaign in F1 history. But in 2024, he simply couldn’t get to grips with the RB20 car and struggled to eighth overall. Worse, the team lost the Constructors’ Championship, sealing the Mexican’s fate. Having raced more Grands Prix with Verstappen than any other and to greater success, it was time to make way for a younger driver.
06
For the record: Max Verstappen (up to end of 2024)
- Grands Prix: 209
- Best Grid Position: 1 (x40)
- Highest Finish: 1 (x63)
- Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Grands Prix: 23
- Best Grid Position: 5 (x1)
- Highest Finish: 4 (x2)
- Team: Red Bull Racing
- Grands Prix: 186
- Best Grid Position: 1 (x40)
- Highest Finish: 1 (x63)
- Drivers’ World Championships: 4
- Constructors’ World Championships: 2
