'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Max Verstappen will have a new Red Bull teammate in Liam Lawson in 2025. The Kiwi driver has had a stop-and-start career in F1 until now with just 6 races in the bag in the last two years. This season he would be replacing Sergio Perez, who ended up being the latest departure from the Austrian team.
Being Max Verstappen's teammate has become an arduous task ever since Daniel Ricciardo announced that his future was going to be with Renault and not Red Bull in 2018. Since then, Verstappen has been paired with three different drivers: Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Sergio Perez.
The fact that all three of the aforementioned drivers subsequently found themselves out of the team because of the level of dominance that Max Verstappen had over them, is a reflection of where they stood against the Dutch driver in the same team. It could also be deemed as a red flag as well, which becomes clear when you look at what Gasly and Albon have been able to accomplish after their Red Bull stints.
Trending
Within the team, both drivers looked far too underwhelming compared to how they would ideally be perceived right now, and if Sergio Perez does come back to Formula 1 in 2026, something similar could happen with him as well.
It is this 'Red Flag' that Liam Lawson has to be wary of, and it is something that Red Bull needs to be honest with as another young talent teams up with the four-time champion.
The Red Bull that only Max Verstappen can drive
After his Red Bull stint, Alex Albon was questioned on the difficulties of being Max Verstappen's teammate. Trying to explain how tough the car is to drive, Albon tried to draw an analogy with a mouse cursor whose sensitivity was increased to 100. The front of the car is very sensitive, and this could impact the confidence of any driver.
For Max Verstappen, however, this is not a concern as he's able to drive a sensitive car. With a Red Bull being made primarily with the Dutch driver's inputs as a priority, the cars have ended up following this directionality and hence been arguably undrivable for Verstappen's teammates.
Verstappen is a special talent, and by the looks of it, he can get on top of whatever issue the car has. But is that sustainable for a team that runs two cars?
The inability to build a fast 'driver-friendly' car hurts the second driver
In the 21st century, there have been 4 different dominant eras. First, it was the Michael Schumacher-Ferrari era, followed by the Sebastian Vettel-Red Bull era. Then we had the Lewis Hamilton-Mercedes era followed by the Max Verstappen-Red Bull era.
In all of these eras except one, one thing that stands out to an extent is that the cars from the respective teams were not only dominant but also suitable enough for both drivers. In the current Max Verstappen-Red Bull era, the car is not driver-friendly, and if you're building something that only one driver can make use of, then that's not the most efficient model.
If every driver on the grid had the same car and they competed together, Max Verstappen would still beat most, if not all, of them. On the other hand, if you build a car that only he can extract the most from, then he ends up dominating everyone. That's the reality of a Red Bull second driver right now.
The team can continue to set whatever target it wants for the other driver, but if the car is just too specific, the gap would remain big.
What if Max Verstappen leaves the team tomorrow?
The bigger problem that Red Bull needs to understand is that the approach of building cars that only suit one driver works until the driver is part of your team. What if tomorrow Max Verstappen decides that he doesn't want to race for the team anymore?
What if there's a scenario where the team is unable to build a car that's good enough to fight for the title? That is precisely the context Verstappen has said would compel him to think about his future with the team.
At that moment, does it make sense to have a design team that has specifically molded itself in this particular direction of car development? As Red Bull bids farewell to another driver who was unable to keep up with Verstappen, it needs to realize the major red flag that has become a characteristic of the team.
In essence, the Austrian team has become a one-driver squad, and such a scenario never helps in the long term. More importantly, it alienates the second driver who ends up not getting the same attention that a driver should.
This is precisely the red flag that a Red Bull second driver would be wary of while taking the wheel alongside Max Verstappen in the Austrian team.
