Liam Lawson reveals Max Verstappen regret after Red Bull axe

Liam Lawson has revealed his regret at not getting more time to learn from Max Verstappen at Red Bull, following his demotion after just two races this season. 

Lawson was chosen as Sergio Perez's replacement ahead of the current campaign, following a run of good performances since replacing Daniel Ricciardo in the sister team for the final rounds in 2024.

Many expected the New Zealander to start well for the Milton Keynes-based outfit; however, he fell into the second Red Bull seat trap. 

Like those before him in the second Red Bull seat, Lawson struggled to quickly adjust to the team's car but also faced bad luck in Australia and China, before returning to Racing Bulls. 

He crashed out in the mixed conditions season-opener, before finishing 12th in the Chinese Grand Prix. 

Lawson's struggles continued in his first races back with the sister team, although he has found great form in recent grands prix. 

Red Bull has received much criticism for its handling of Lawson and not giving the 23-year-old more time, the latter impacting how much he was able to learn from Verstappen.

Asked in an exclusive RacingNews365 interview if he had time to learn anything from the four-time world champion, Lawson said: "I was very excited. I was very excited to have that opportunity to basically see everything that he was doing in detail. 

"Because I think the thing is, to be honest, we have so much data shared across teams at the moment. 

"It's very simple data, but as a driver, it's the main stuff that we're looking at, speed traces, you know, where somebody's braking, throttle places, gears, things like that that we use. 

"We actually can see across the grid what people are doing. So I already compare with Max a lot to see how he's approaching corners and things like that. 

"So it was the detailed stuff that you wouldn't get across teams that I was excited to have, but in two weekends, it's very hard to take too much from that."