Liam Lawson will race alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing in 2025 for the first time but the two know each other well as the Kiwi has been an academy member for years

Liam Lawson will replace Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen's Red Bull partner for the 2025 F1 season, but there's one thing that irks the driver about the set-up

Once healed, Ricciardo rejoined and finished the 2023 season alongside teammate Tsunoda, and they formed this year’s lineup for the rebranded RB. It left Lawson, now 22, on the sidelines again, with five grands prix under his belt. As Red Bull’s reserve driver, the New Zealander was at the race weekends and following along from the garage.

Top Formula 1 teams often avoid giving number one status to one of their drivers in public these days, but Red Bull have made it clear Liam Lawson is not to try challenging Max Verstappen

Formula 1 team Red Bull says Liam Lawson will be the partner for world champion Max Verstappen in 2025. Lawson is a New Zealander.

Liam Lawson has been labelled ‘arrogant’ by 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who believes that the new Red Bull recruit has a ‘very strange attitude’ that could hamper his progress in the sport.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull may have been able to get over the line with the drivers' world championship in 2024 but they have been dealt a huge warning heading into F1 2025. Verstappen, in the end, kept nearest title rival Lando Norris at arm's length to claim his fourth world title in a row but it was far from the dominant and comfortable display he and his team were able to produce after strolling to double success in 2023.