Liam Lawson’s ‘ambition’ questioned in ‘second’ Red Bull driver verdict

Too much, too soon for Liam Lawson at Red Bull?
Liam Lawson has been told to park his ambitions as his job at Red Bull is to score as many points, not challenge Max Verstappen.
Not that Giedo van der Garde thinks he could challenge the reigning World Champion as that’s “very difficult” given that “Max is the best”.
Liam Lawson steps up as Verstappen’s fifth Red Bull team-mate
Lawson steps up to Red Bull this season, handing a dream promotion despite not even doing a full season with the team’s junior outfit.
The New Zealander has just 11 Grands Prix starts to his name having substituted for Daniel Ricciardo in 2023 when he broke his hand before being recalled to VCARB late last year in a six-race audition. That’s even fewer starts than Alex Albon had under his belt when he took on the challenge of being Verstappen’s team-mate in 2019.
Albon came up short against Verstappen before he was replaced by Sergio Perez in 2021. But even the experienced Mexican driver wasn’t a match for the reigning World Champion.
Perez did bring home a runner-up finish behind Verstappen in the 2023 championship only for his results to nosedive last year, leading to his exit and Lawson’s promotion.
But while Lawson may want to strive to dethrone Verstappen as Red Bull’s star driver, former F1 driver van der Garde has joined the list of those urging him to accept that he’s the “second driver” and learn from the Dutchman.
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Speaking to Motorsport.com, van der Garde said: “Although he is on the eve of his first full season, Liam is no rookie anymore, with his 11 Grand Prix starts for AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls. I think he is a really nice guy and a great talent.
“In every class he has started in, he has been fast. And when he has been given a chance in Formula 1, he has been there straight away. He picks things up quickly and is very good at tyre management. He is also very steady. He does not do strange things and generally makes very few mistakes.
“This year he is next to the best in the world. Liam will have to learn as much as possible from Max. I am very curious to see how close he can get to him.
“Although he showed a few times last year at Racing Bulls that he was very ambitious, I do not expect that to cause any problems.
“Liam knows all too well that he is the second driver at Red Bull Racing and that it is his job to score as many points as possible for the team. But if Max unexpectedly parks the car next to the track with a technical problem, he can show that he can also win races.
“But how great would it be if he could come close to Max? However, we know that that will be very difficult because Max is the best.”
He also weighed in on Mercedes’ new signing, Kimi Antonelli.
The 18-year-old is stepping up from Formula 2 to Formula 1 to replace seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton after the Briton’s move to Ferrari.
A child prodigy or wunderkind, van der Garde has told Antonelli that he needs to avoid “crazy” mistakes such as his crash in FP1 at Monza last season.
“When he made the step to motorsport, expectations were high, but he has certainly proven himself,” said the Dutchman. “I think he has the talent and the speed to become a great driver.
“But he shouldn’t do too many crazy things, like last year in Monza, when he crashed off the track early in his first Friday practice. He also crashed once during a private test.
“He is young and wild, Toto Wolff is taking a risk with him. But he has a lot of potential, and without risk there is no success!”
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