Former Red Bull driver urges team to avoid crucial 'mistake'

Former F1 driver Christian Klien has advised the Red Bull squad to give Liam Lawson a chance to grow at the team.

Lawson has been promoted to the front-running outfit in place of Sergio Perez, who departed Red Bull at the end of 2024.

The New Zealander received the call-up despite having just 11 grand prix starts to his name.

Lawson will be the fourth driver to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull since Daniel Ricciardo's departure in 2018.

Ricciardo was originally replaced by Pierre Gasly who lasted just half a season before Alex Albon was given 18 months. However, he too was ousted for underperforming.

With Red Bull opting to promote from within its own ranks once again, Klien asserted Lawson deserves more time than Albon to prove his worth to the team.

“He has to go at this in a very clever way,” Klien told the Business of Winning podcast. “I think he shouldn't go into Red Bull thinking, ‘I can beat Max Verstappen’.

“I don’t think early on in his career that it’s possible. He has to be a great number two driver and learn from the best, which Max Verstappen is at the moment.

“His time can come in the future. It's really exciting to see how he will handle the situation and how Red Bull as a team is helping him in this role next to Verstappen.

“I hope they don't put too much pressure under him. They made the mistake with Kvyat, Albon, etc, etc.

“I think they learned from it. What they need is the second driver who scores points and they can go for the constructors’ championship again.”

Klien supports Red Bull F1 driver change

Perez departed the Red Bull team as he too struggled for performance alongside Verstappen, enduring a dismal 2024 campaign.

Klien asserted it was the right decision from Red Bull to make the change after it slipped to third place in the constructors' championship.

“For me, it was quite clear they had to change something,” he said. “Checo, unfortunately, didn't deliver anymore.

“He had a great time at Red Bull, but the last one and a half years, it just didn't click anymore.

“Mentally, it was a difficult situation for him, so they had to change something, so they put Liam in the car. I think I can understand it for Liam.

“If you have got this opportunity, you have to grab it with both hands. Everybody's dream is to drive in a top team, in a top car.

“The difficulty is you're driving next to Verstappen, and that's now down to him. I think he has the talent.

“He is a really quick driver, he showed this. He can adapt very quickly. I think he is also mentally strong.”