Former Red Bull man urges the team to back Max Verstappen's latest teammate and prevent a repeat of the past

Former Red Bull driver Christian Klien has urged the team to back Max Verstappen's new teammate Liam Lawson and not put too much pressure on him. The Kiwi will be competing in his first full season in 2025. In 2023 and 2024, he's done a handful of races in which he convinced the team that he was the right candidate to replace Sergio Perez.

Lawson is going to Red Bull, where Verstappen is the lead driver, and every change within the squad caters to him. This has led to the Dutch driver going through teammates and dominating everyone since 2019.

It started with Pierre Gasly, who lasted half a season in 2019 before he succumbed to the pressure; then it was Alex Albon, who had an 18-month stint before being dropped; and finally, it's Perez, who was part of the squad from 2021 to 2024. With Verstappen doing miracles in the other car, it becomes hard for the teammates to keep up, and they struggle.

Talking about Lawson on The Business of Winning Podcast, Klien hoped that Red Bull would not pressure Kiwi too much like the team has with other drivers:

"It's going to be exciting this year to see how Liam handles the situation and how the team helps him with his role next to Max Verstappen. I hope they don't put too much pressure on him. They made that mistake with Daniil Kvyat, with Alex Albon, and so on. I think they've learned from that. What they need now is a second driver who scores points and with whom they can fight for the constructors' title.

He has to be smart about this now. He shouldn't go to Red Bull thinking: 'I can beat Max Verstappen.' Because I don't think that's possible at this point in his career. He has to be a great number two and learn from the best, because at the moment that's just Max Verstappen. His time will come in the future."

Lawson was not the only driver battling to replace Perez at Red Bull.

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Christian Klien: Liam Lawson is the right choice alongside Max Verstappen

Liam Lawson was in contention to replace Sergio Perez with the other contender Yuki Tsunoda. Helmut Marko and Christian Horner went with the Kiwi for 2025.

Talking about Lawson on The Business of Winning Podcast, Christian Klien felt he was the correct choice, as he has shown decent adaptability and mental toughness:

"I can understand the choice for Liam. If you get this chance, you have to grab it with both hands. Every driver wants to drive the best car with the best team. The hardest thing is that he is now driving next to Max Verstappen. I think Liam has the talent. He is a very, very fast driver, he has shown that. He can adapt very quickly. I think he also has the right mentality."

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen will focus on clinching his fifth consecutive title in F1.