Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has warned Liam Lawson that he must start strong at Red Bull this year or face the “mental battles” that losing to Max Verstappen creates. 

Lawson’s seat at Red Bull this year marks his first as a full-time F1 driver, having only made 11 appearances across two seasons for the sister team now known as Racing Bulls.

Interestingly, in the six races he started at the end of last year, Lawson was often behind Yuki Tsunoda, who has again been snubbed for a promotion to Red Bull.

It is a point also raised by Herbert, who is not entirely convinced Lawson deserves the seat alongside Verstappen having rarely beaten Tsunoda.

“I don’t think Liam Lawson has proven himself 100 per cent worthy of the Red Bull seat because, in my old ways, it’s always about how you do against your team-mates, and in his time at RB, he didn’t blow away Yuki Tsunoda,” Herbert told Casinoutanspelpaus.io.

“Tsunoda was always mighty quick when he came down to qualifying. He had his days. There was a nice synergy between the two, I suppose. 

“You had a good backup, and whichever way around as it wasn’t one particular weekend. They had a very good backup of one of those two drivers.”

Fast Red Bull start required

Ultimately, it is Lawson who will partner with Verstappen, not Tsunoda. Whilst Herbert is unsure of the New Zealander’s promotion, he does believe he can cause problems for the four-time F1 champion. 

There is no doubt about Lawson’s speed, which has made the young driver very highly rated by Red Bull. 

Whilst naturally stating that Verstappen is a much better driver than Tsunoda, making him a significantly tougher team-mate and opponent, added to the mix for Lawson is that the Dutchman also dominates his team-mates.

“The dominant force is always someone who can jump into a team, lead that team, and then by leading that team that puts you in a position that Liam is in at the moment going up against Max,” added Verstappen.

“He’s just another level or two above someone like Tsunoda, for example, so it’s now down to how he can go from the level he had in 2024 to a much stronger 2025 level.

“Lawson has to come out of the blocks quickly because as soon as Verstappen feels he’s in control of the on-track activities, the speed that he has, but also then going down to the teeth, he’s going to start to struggle and the mental battles will start to come into play. 

“Has he got the ingredients to race up against Verstappen? I think he has. But now we’ve just got to see it, I suppose. You’ve got to prove it. It’s always that. You’re always under pressure to prove.”