Liam Lawson has rejected comments made by Zak Brown suggesting the Racing Bulls is a faster car than the Red Bull.
Brown has suggested that, without the irrepressible Max Verstappen, that the senior squad would find itself trailing its Faenza-based sister operation in F1 2025.
Liam Lawson suggests Zak Brown ‘doesn’t understand’
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Verstappen’s future has become a key talking point in the build up to this weekend’s British Grand Prix.
The Dutchman has been linked with a move to Mercedes, speculation fuelled by comments from its current team leader, George Russell.
Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, has confirmed that conversations have taken place but refused to be drawn into any detail.
Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, though performance clauses allow his to leave the team under certain circumstances.
It’s believed that clause is triggered should the four-time world champion sit below fourth place in the drivers’ standings following the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“I’m a believer of when there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Brown said of the speculation surrounding Verstappen.
He went on to suggest that, without the 27-year-old, Red Bull’s fortunes would be far worse than they currently are.
“Red Bull would be behind Racing Bulls [without Verstappen],” Brown opined. “They [Racing Bulls] have done a great job and have a great racing car.
“I think Max is carrying them at the moment.”
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Red Bull sits fourth in the Constructors’ Championship with 162 points – Verstappen having contributed 155 of those.
By contrast, Red Bull sits sixth, with 36 points to its name split between Yuki Tsunoda (3), Lawson (12) and Isack Hadjar (21).
Having raced both the Red Bull and Racing Bulls this season, Lawson is in an educated position in passing judgement on their relative performance.
It prompted the New Zealander to offer a shrift response to the McLaren boss.
“I don’t think Zak Brown understands,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com.
“It’s easy to comment on stuff when you are not involved and you’re outside of the picture. So, I don’t think he understands.”
Lawsons’ tenure at Red Bull was comparatively short, just two races before he swapped seats with Yuki Tsunoda and returned to Racing Bulls.
Since his promotion, Tsunoda has struggled at the senior team, delivering only seven points in 10 races.
His plight, which so quickly followed that of Lawson and before him Sergio Perez, it’s led to increased suggestions that it is not the driver holding the car back, as was first thought.
But where it falls short, Lawson wouldn’t be drawn.
“I guess I didn’t have anywhere near enough time, on two tracks I’d never been to, to really understand,” he said.
“In two weekends, I don’t have enough feel of the car to be able to comment, honestly, on what its speed is like and things like that.
“We were working on things to improve it and make it better for me as well, and never got the chance to use them.
“I can comment on a Racing Bulls car, because that’s what I’ve spent most of my time driving.”
Lawson bounced back from his tough start to the F1 2025 campaign with a strong performance at the Red Bull Ring last weekend.
On a one-stop strategy, he qualified inside the top 10 before going on to record sixth place at the flag, his best result in F1.
It was a performance that moved Racing Bulls into a clear sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship, having been tied with Haas following the Canadian Grand Prix.
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