Jos Verstappen has called upon his own experience to give Liam Lawson some advice ahead of the F1 2025 season.

Lawson steps up to Red Bull Racing as a teammate to Max Verstappen this year, having completed just 11 Grand Prix weekends in his career so far.

Jos Verstappen: Liam Lawson can’t make the same mistake I did

While Lawson impressed alongside Yuki Tsunoda during those 11 weekends to the point where he was given the nod between the pair to step up alongside Verstappen, his limited experience means there are plenty of question marks looming over him ahead of his first full season in F1.

Verstappen’s relentless nature has earned him a reputation as a teammate crusher, with the experienced Sergio Perez showing signs that he’d lost his head last year – to the point where he and Red Bull parted ways at season end, despite the Mexican driver’s contract extension in the middle of 2024.

Before Perez, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly also struggled for consistency alongside Verstappen, before stepping back to midfield teams allowed them to flourish.

It’s a big challenge for Lawson this year, who has been made aware of the expectations on him, namely to stay within a couple of tenths of Verstappen, score points, and, in general, play a good supporting role for the Dutch driver as Red Bull aims to reclaim the Constructors’ Championship.

Lawson, who no doubt harbours dreams of his own, has said all the right things about keeping a watching brief, learning from Verstappen, and settling into life at Red Bull, but, should he have any higher ambitions for his first year alongside the four-time F1 World Champion, Verstappen’s father has issued some advice.

Jos Verstappen came into F1 as a test driver with Benetton in 1994, but secured a promotion to the race team following an injury for JJ Lehto. This meant the inexperienced Dutch driver immediately became teammates with Michael Schumacher in what proved to be the first of the German’s seven titles.

While Schumacher won the title, Verstappen only managed 10th overall with two podium finishes after racing in 10 of the 16 rounds, and had some advice for Lawson on trying to keep up too quickly with Verstappen.

“He shouldn’t make the same mistake I made at Benetton in 1994 – wanting to keep up at all costs,” Verstappen senior told F1-Insider.com.

“He was extremely fast, extremely talented and the top dog in the team. I really wanted to drive as fast as him, especially in races.

“But I couldn’t do that with my limited experience at the time. That’s why I made mistakes. I wanted to put my head through the wall.”

While the elder Verstappen suffered an ignominious defeat to Schumacher, the two men became friendly – to the point where Max Verstappen and Mick Schumacher, Michael’s son, played together as children.

Numerous pictures have emerged over the years of Michael meeting Max as a child in the paddock, and Jos said it’s clear there are some character traits the two multiple F1 World Champions share.

“Max has a lot in common with Michael – uncompromising on the racetrack, but kind, sensitive, and caring as a private person,” he said.

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Liam Lawson identifies the ‘opportunity’ of being Max Verstappen’s teammate

As for Lawson, the Kiwi is taking a methodical approach into his first season alongside one of the most imperious drivers on the grid.

Having carried out tests and sim work with older Red Bull cars, he explained that being able to handle the machinery will be key.

“I’ve driven the car over the last couple of years and done tests, and I can say the car is very aggressive and it takes a lot of confidence to drive it, honestly,” he said.

“And I think that’s where Max is obviously extremely confident as a driver.

“But, the main thing is just he’s the best in the world right now, so to go up against the best guy, is always going to be very, very tough.

“And ultimately, that’s probably the main reason that anybody has struggled so far to go up against him.”

Speaking to PlanetF1.com, Lawson said he has no expectations of being able to beat Verstappen at this point in his career and, more pertinently for him, it’s the access to Verstappen’s data he’s most excited by.

“I believe, for anybody to go up against Max, you have to be realistic and know that he’s the fastest guy on the grid right now, and that you’re not gonna be out-qualifying the guy by half a second,” he said.

“It’s not gonna be something that’s really gonna be happening. For me, it’s more the opportunity that’s there to learn from the best.

“For me as a driver, to be able to go in against the guy who’s won four world championships and is well seasoned…. he’s been in that car for a long time.

“In terms of how to drive it, it’s all right there on paper. When you see all the data that he brings in, for me as a driver to be alongside that, to be able to learn from him and have all that access, I think that’s what’s exciting for me about the opportunity… if that opportunity was to come in the future.”

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