‘Worst job in motorsport’: Career-defining test for Aussies’ new F1 ‘villain’, and why Ricciardo’s a fan
Liam Lawson isn’t cut out to be the villain.
After all, Aussies aren’t supposed to hate Kiwis. We’re the older brother in the trans-Tasman relationship, you know? We mess with them a bit, but in a loveable way, like stealing Russell Crowe and Phar Lap.
And Lawson steps into the Formula 1 spotlight with the world’s toughest job - partnering Max Verstappen, a role that chews up and spits out every single applicant. It’s hard not to feel sorry for him already.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch the 2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during racing. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
He’s immediately likeable too, from cheekily giving the middle finger to rivals during races, to his backstory of a regular family mortgaging its house to afford his burgeoning motorsport career - in contrast to the typical required background of wealthy benefactors.
But then you remember Daniel Ricciardo, and the smile that hasn’t just charmed a nation but the F1 world. And the fact he’s no longer in the sport because Lawson exists.
SATURDAY LIVE BLOG: Updates, timings, schedule, qualifying results
Lawson, 23, was just too quick for the Red Bull family to ignore any longer. First replacing Ricciardo when the West Aussie broke his hand in 2023, scoring points in his third career race, Lawson then took Ricciardo’s place at RB full-time post-Singapore last year when his results proved untenable.
Again, Lawson showed enough pace to unseat a disappointing veteran in the off-season, given the opportunity in the big chair. Sergio Perez falling off a cliff after the first quarter of the 2024 campaign cost Red Bull the constructors’ crown, and Lawson was just good enough for them to finally make the move and axe the Mexican, even while contracted.
That’s how a driver with 11 races under his belt ended up in the second seat for this decade’s most dominant F1 team - one that is clearly targeting both world championships, even if Lawson is guaranteed to be the support act for Verstappen.
Which is kinda like being the support act at a concert where the main act is in the wings taunting you with all of their Grammy awards. In F1, it’s the ultimate pressure point.
“I think it’s the worst job in motorsport, to be Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull, and I think they feel he could have the stronger head of all of those (candidates),” long-time F1 driver turned commentator Martin Brundle told Fox Sports.
“Red Bull have uniquely got a junior team on the grid but somehow or other they’ve managed to stall out and messed it up a little bit.
“Let’s give Liam a chance - when he fronted up against Fernando (Alonso, during a race last year), I think it showed a mental strength they were looking for.”
His co-commentator David Croft added: “I think Yuki (Tsunoda) could’ve done that as well, but there was something about Yuki that the Red Bull hierarchy didn’t fancy in terms of promoting up to the senior team.
“He worked hard on his temperament last year, and he’ll be a great mentor for Isack Hadjar, who did show a few signs of getting a bit stroppy last year.
“He wasn’t necessarily beating Liam in qualifying or blowing him away, he wasn’t blowing Daniel Ricciardo away and they didn’t fancy Daniel. Something about Yuki they just didn’t fancy.”
Lawson is well aware of the pressure he’s about to face - they just sacked a multiple-time race-winner for him, after all - but is hopeful the itchy trigger-finger has been soothed.
“I think it’s more of an opportunity than anything for me coming in here, effectively my first time starting a season, doing a full season. To have him (Verstappen) as a teammate to learn off is massively valuable,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“I just need to look at it that way and take advantage of that more than anything.”
Asked whether he had set himself, or been set, a target Lawson explained: “I think it’s obviously the closer the better, and that’s the target going in, but it’s not like a clear lap time definition.
“If I’m buried down the bottom of the field then I’m not doing a good enough job, obviously. So I think the expectation is to just be close, but I think there’s also an understanding that starting the season there’s a lot to learn quickly, especially these new tracks.
“So far it’s all very sensible, I don’t think, like I said, there’s no clear lap time number.”
The mini-outbursts of competitiveness Lawson has shown should only help him - Red Bull likes a bit of fire, though not too much - and he has already been through a lot just to get here.
He was helped, perhaps surprisingly, by the man who could’ve easily felt wronged by him - Daniel Ricciardo.
“The possibility of anything in this sport slips away, all the time,” Lawson told GQ recently.
“Last year was an emotional rollercoaster. You obviously never wish for somebody’s downfall, but I knew that the only way I was going to get a seat was to replace somebody. So, watching the season was brutal. There would be races where a seat seemed closer and then it would go away again, just like that.
“In the meantime, Red Bull was testing me and I was trying to nail every single opportunity that they gave me. It wasn’t an enjoyable experience.”
But he explained: “I actually spoke to Daniel a lot when it was happening.
“I will always have so much respect for him. Throughout the whole ordeal, from when the rumours started to when they were confirmed, he never said a bad word about or towards me. He never made it about me and him, because at the end of the day, it wasn’t our decision. It’s up to the team, and what they decide to do. He was so good to me, through all of it.
“Fast forward to December, when I got the Red Bull seat, and Daniel is still the only driver, past or present, to send me a message about it, congratulating me. It says a lot about him as a person.”
And if Ricciardo’s on his side, the rest of Australia probably should be, too.