Alex Albon warning to Liam Lawson with Red Bull ‘opportunity’ on the line

Liam Lawson may be in a “win-win” situation for F1 2025, but Alex Albon has warned him against rushing into a Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen.

Lawson is three races into his six-race audition for a F1 2025 drive with one of the Red Bull teams, and so far it has yielded two top-ten finishes, only one fewer than his predecessor Daniel Ricciardo managed in 18 Grands Prix.

Alex Albon: Liam Lawson is in a win-win but…

Although initially it was thought Lawson was vying for a place at VCARB alongside Yuki Tsunoda, Sergio Perez’s ongoing troubles have opened the door for Lawson to replace him at Red Bull.

Despite being behind the wheel of a Red Bull RB20, Sergio Perez has managed just one top-ten performance since Lawson’s return while in that same time, Max Verstappen has two podiums, including a victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Helmut Marko says Red Bull will make the call on their 2025 driver line-ups “after Abu Dhabi” giving Perez three races to save his seat, and Lawson time to stamp his authority.

Albon though, feels the New Zealander shouldn’t be too quick to step into the Red Bull seat as he’ll be up against Verstappen, the benchmark in Formula 1.

Albon speaks from experience having been promoted to Red Bull in mid-2019 when he replaced Pierre Gasly only to be dropped at the end of the 2020 season after failing to match Verstappen’s pace.

“I think Liam is in a win-win,” said the Williams driver. “I feel like worst case scenario he’s in an RB [VCARB].

“I mean, in my head, do you need to jump into the main team that quickly against Max? From my experience, it’s not a bad thing to spend a couple of years learning your craft a bit more.

“But of course if there’s the opportunity, and if you’re going to have the opportunity, you have to take it.”

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With arguably the most coveted seat up for grabs, Lawson and Perez has already had one on-track clash as they went wheel-to-wheel at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Perez tried to dive up the inside of Lawson on lap 17 as they tussled over the final points-paying position only for the VCARB driver to slam the door shut. The battle continued into the next corner where Perez was forced off the track.

There’s also been tension with Yuki Tsunoda, who was left fuming when VCARB’s strategy saw Lawson undercut him at the United States GP.

Albon says that’s part of the “game”.

“There’s clearly a bit of pressure, I would say, between the drivers to get that seat,” Albon said.

“I think you feel that a little bit. I see it in the races, I see it in the moves. But that’s the game. I think two hungry drivers looking for spots at the top. And so I get it.”

Asked if Lawson giving Perez the middle finger in Mexico was also part of the pressure, the Thai-British racer replied: “I don’t think that’s pressure. I think that’s actual frustration towards the other driver. I personally wouldn’t have done that, not in Mexico at his home race.

“But no, it’s just drivers. Everyone’s hungry.”

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