Liam Lawson admits there is one aspect of being a Formula 1 driver he hates after promotion to Red Bull

The 34-year-old finished 285 points behind his teammate, meaning Red Bull confirmed the departure of Pérez weeks after the end of the 2024 campaign.

There was a lot of discussion about who would replace Pérez, but in the end, team principal christian horner and chief advisor Helmut Marko chose Liam Lawson.

Lawson was selected ahead of his more experienced racing bulls teammate Yuki Tsunoda despite having only participated in 11 Grand Prix during his career.

The pressure was on Lawson as soon as he replaced Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of the season in 2024.

The New Zealander was not under contract for this year with any of the Red Bull-backed teams and several more established stars, such as Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen, were available as free agents for Red Bull if Lawson did not live up to expectations.

In the end, Lawson matched Tsunoda’s race pace and that was enough to convince Red Bull to take a chance on the 22-year-old.

Marko admitted that Tsunoda was missing one thing which finally tipped the balance in Lawson’s direction.

During his time with Racing Bulls, Lawson immediately went to work promoting the team and its various sponsors.

It’s an important aspect of being an F1 driver, as the cost cap affects how teams develop their cars and every penny earned through marketing deals helps support their progress.

Red Bull has incredibly lucrative sponsors and Verstappen and Lawson will be obliged to work alongside them as part of their agreements.

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Lawson was doing some trading on the Visa Cash App RB YouTube channel and was seen standing in a studio preparing to deliver a message.

He stood in front of a camera and then exclaimed, “Ah fuck, here we go with this fucking teleprompter.” I hate this.”

Later, Lawson is doing a photo shoot and is asked to be ‘a little more normal,’ to which he jokingly replies, “You’re an idiot! Be a little more normal, are you serious?

The most important aspect of Lawson’s promotion is getting closer to Verstappen on the track.

Red Bull cannot afford another season in which the Dutchman’s teammate is so far off the pace, although Perez’s poor performance has earned the team more time in the wind tunnel which it can use to help develop its racing car. 2026.

However, where Pérez stood out was in generating money for Red Bull through his sponsors.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull Racing F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Perez’s sponsors generated huge amounts of cash for Red Bull and the team is already working to replace that windfall.

Working with Verstappen will be an easy selling point for the team given that he is a four-time world champion.

Lawson’s popularity in New Zealand is no match for the support Perez received from Mexico and most of South America, but that will be quickly forgotten if he produces stronger performances than his predecessor.

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