Liam Lawson bitter feud with Sergio Perez reignites

Of all the subplots to the Australian Grand Prix with the energy management demands, super clipping, and Mercedes' new F1 dominance, one story somewhat flew under the radar.

On Lap 18, the two went side-by-side through Turn 3, with Perez barging Lawson off the track which the stewards investigated briefly before deciding no further action would be taken. 

Later in the lap, as Lawson scythed back past into Turn 11, the two made wheel-to-wheel contact, proving there was firmly no love lost between the former Red Bull drivers.

Lawson even declared over the radio "that guy fucking sucks" before Perez called in to say: 'Haha, what happened with this guy?'

Post-race, Lawson accused Perez of fighting him "for the world championship", whilst the Mexican firmly insisted that it was just racing, but what is behind the unusual bitter feud?

It all stems back to 2024

In late 2024, Perez was fighting for a lost cause.

His dreadful performances for Red Bull, albeit not helped by a team which had encountered serious problems with its RB20 that even Max Verstappen was struggling to drive, had put his career on the line. 

Between round six at Imola and round 19 in the United States, Perez had scored just 43 points and was coming under severe pressure, especially with Lawson, now promoted into the junior Racing Bulls team after Daniel Ricciardo had been discarded, making no secret of his desire to partner Verstappen.

During Perez's home race, the two came together on track, engaging in a fierce battle, which ended with Lawson giving Perez the middle finger from his cockpit and the local driver claiming that the New Zealander lacked the temperament to succeed in grand prix racing.

Lawson did apologise for giving Perez the middle finger, but ultimately, won out in the battle after Perez's contract for 2025 was ripped up as Verstappen found himself with yet another new F1 team-mate.

This too, caused lingering tensions as Perez has publicly stated his warnings to then-Red Bull boss Christian Horner that Lawson could struggle, which were apparently dismissed. 

As it turned out, Lawson was given just two grand prix weekends, at circuits he had never driven at before, before being booted from the seat ahead of the 2025 Japanese GP for Yuki Tsunoda. 

Lawson's Racing Bulls team is a prime target for Perez's newcomer Cadillac outfit as it looks to grow and cement itself into F1's midfield, so look out for more on-track scuffles between the pair.