Red Bull boss Christian Horner has pledged to "do our best to support" Liam Lawson after a tough Chinese Grand Prix weekend that once again saw the Kiwi finish outside the points.
Lawson entered the weekend hoping to turn things around following the Australian Grand Prix, where the 23-year-old Kiwi was eliminated in Q1 and then was one of a number of drivers who failed to finish the race, crashing with 10 laps to go.
Lawson could not improve his situation over the weekend, qualifying 20th for both the sprint and main race in China. He struggled to find a way to get pace out of his RB21.
Red Bull made several setup changes, so Lawson had to start a second race from the pit lane. By the end of the race, he had climbed to 15th, but three disqualifications lifted him to 12th, still outside the points. Verstappen finished fourth.
Following yesterday's race, there has been speculation that Lawson's time at Red Bull could end early.
Responding to the claims, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said his team would do its best to support Lawson.
“I think Liam’s had a tough couple of races, a tough weekend here," he told F1.
“We elected to take him off the grid, out of Parce Ferme, to do a significant set-up change, so we managed to get 56 laps of reasonable data from that. Obviously, we’ll take that away, we’ll have a good look at it, and as a group we’ll do our best to support him.”
Asked about speculation about a driver change, Horner said: "As I say, we’ve just finished this race, we’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it."
He said Lawson "still has potential", but "we're just not realising that at the moment".
“The pressure just naturally grows in this business. I feel very sorry for him that he’s… you can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.
“He’s a young guy, we’ve got a duty to look after him. We’re going to do the best that we can to support him. Liam’s still a very capable driver, we know that, we’re just not… for whatever reason, we’re not seeing him able to deliver that at the moment.”
Horner wouldn't comment on speculation of possibly switching Lawson and Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda, saying, "That will be your first headline".
“As I say, we’re two races into this championship, we have a sample of two [races]. We have quite a bit of information, so we’re going to go away and have a good look at it, work with Liam, and do the best we can for him.
“There’s so much info [available], how he’s adapted driving the car, what he’s getting from the car, what we can do to help, where were his major issues, what’s causing the inconsistency… all of those issues.”
Asked about his performance over the weekend, Lawson said: “A lot to learn from this weekend – a lot for me personally to get on top of as well. It’s just been extremely tough.
“It’s just we tried something with the set-up to learn something today. It was quite a big step and unfortunately it just didn’t work."
Lason said he would spend this week "going very heavily " into finding a way to improve his results at the Japanese Grand Prix. The race is held at Suzuka Circut, a track Lawson is familiar with from his Super Formula days.
“I’d love to say I just need more time driving the car but obviously we don’t really have that,” Lawson said.
“Fortunately, we go to a track that I know, and it’s a track that I like.
Speaking to Dutch media after qualifying, Verstappen commented on Lawson's pace, saying he was "quite similar" to Tsunoda.
"There was not a whole lot of difference between them, I thought.
"Otherwise, of course, the team wouldn't make that choice to put Liam in [to Red Bull]. And now suddenly that gap is very big and they are also very close to me. So of course that tells you something."
He then suggested Lawson would be faster if he were back in his old car from last season.
"If you would put Liam in the Racing Bulls, he will go quicker."
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