Red Bull team principal has reportedly made up his mind about new driver Liam Lawson after his disastrous start with the top F1 team.
After four seasons with Red Bull, Sergio Perez officially left the team at the end of the 2024 Formula One season having failed to impress throughout the year.
Despite rumours suggesting that either Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda could replace the Mexican driver, the opportunity was handed to Lawson, with him officially becoming a Red Bull driver in the 2025 season.
However, after the New Zealand driver's start to life at Red Bull got off to potentially the worst start possible, Red Bull chief Horner has been forced to consider his future with the team, and he's reportedly already made up his mind.
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Lawson's first race as a Red Bull driver came at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, where he unfortunately finished the race right at the back in 18th while teammate Max Verstappen came second.
But things only got worse for the 23-year-old as he finished the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix in 20th, only to qualify in last position once again for the main race on Sunday, leaving Horner with a real headache.
With Tsunoda continuing to perform well at Red Bull's junior team Racing Bulls, many fans have called for the Japanese driver to replace Lawson, but Horner has decided to give the youngster some more time before potentially replacing him.
When speaking with Sky Sports‘ Martin Brundle ahead of Friday’s session, Horner said: “We’re only at race two.
“It’s a circuit he’s never seen before. So I think we have to be fair and give him time. And he will he will get there.
“But we just need to give him the back and give him time. And, you know, he’s in a highly pressured seat. And it doesn’t get any easier.”
The Red Bull boss continued this sentiment when speaking later in the day at the official press conference.
“I think Liam’s got a pretty sensible head on his shoulders,” Horner added.
“It was a tough baptism for him [in Melbourne].
“He still came away with the second fastest race lap. And I just told him: “Ignore the naysayers, ignore social media, put your head down and you’ll be fine. He just needs a bit of time.”
However, after Lawson's dreadful set of results on Saturday, Horner was much more reserved when speaking about the performance of his driver.
"It's been a tough day at the office for him today so we'll have a good look at it and go through it and obviously try and give him the best car we can tomorrow," Horner told Sky Sports.
Pushing further, the Ted Kravitz asked Horner if brining in Lawson was a mistake if the whole point of replacing Perez was to get a quicker driver.
To which the Red Bull chief replied: "As I say, we'll have a good look at it and we'll do what we can tomorrow."
Topics: Max Verstappen, Formula 1, Red Bull Racing
Ben McCrum