'I don't have time' - Lawson delivers crunch Red Bull verdict after latest hammer blow

Liam Lawson has opened up on his struggles behind the wheel of Red Bull's car following a challenging qualifying session ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

After his disastrous Red Bull debut in Australia at which he failed to advance beyond Q1, Lawson ended the qualifying session from Shanghai at the bottom of the timesheet.

Lawson was promoted to Red Bull this year after the team parted ways with Sergio Perez at the end of the 2024 campaign.

However, the New Zealander has failed to impress during his first two race weekends with the team as he explained he is struggling to cope with the narrow operating window of the car.

“It’s just really tough,” Lawson told Sky F1. “The window is really small. That’s known but it's not an excuse.

“I’ve got to get a handle of it. It was a messy session and had we have not dealt with traffic and stuff like that, it might have been okay.

“But to be honest it’s still not good enough to be having those issues and that's the reason that we get knocked out.

“We should be fast enough on our first lap, it shouldn’t be an issue. So I just need to get on top of it.”

Lawson asserted his lack of preparation for the race weekend with just one practice session has been costly for him.

“I think it's just time,” he said when asked what he needs to get on top of the car. 

“Unfortunately, I don't really have time, but it's just one of those things. To drive an f1 car, it takes 100 per cent confidence in what you’re doing.

‘It’s not that I don't feel confident, but the window is so small that right now I just seem to miss it.

“And it's that that I just need to get a handle on. I don't know how I should put it, it's just not good enough.”