Verstappen impresses Lawson: 'He was so good to me'

Liam Lawson claims to have had a lot to gain from Max Verstappen. The Dutchman is said to have played an important role for the New Zealander, especially around the Italian Grand Prix. He revealed this in the Beyond the Grid podcast.

It was quite something for Lawson, having to be in action for the first time in Formula 1 during the Dutch Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand and had to be replaced. As a reserve driver, Lawson was ready for the chance, but with only one practice and a weekend with changing weather conditions like Zandvoort, it was not the ideal place for a rookie to start.

"I really struggled to get comfortable with it. The car is so fast, it takes so much commitment that if you basically have any hesitation, you lose so much lap time. I think that’s the difference when it comes to Max, he's just so comfortable all the time. He's been in this car for so much time that now. He's always really been like this, but he’s so comfortable that he knows exactly what's going to happen when he does something with the car. And I think that's where you start extracting those last little bits in Formula One."

What Verstappen helped Lawson with

As a driver, Verstappen is a role model for Lawson, but there is also a lot of conversation within the Red Bull team. Lawson made his debut out of nowhere but soon noticed that he received a lot of support from Daniel Ricciardo and also the world champion.

"Daniel was very helpful in Zandvoort. Before he went away for his surgery, he was still at the track on Friday night, and I spoke to him. He was obviously very, very nice about it. And also Max, especially Monza, Max basically said to try and enjoy it, not to overthink it and be as relaxed as you can be. He's always been really good to me."

Lawson is now in the unusual situation of having performed well at AlphaTauri, but having had to give up his seat again to Ricciardo. For 2024, Lawson has also failed to secure a permanent seat as AlphaTauri opts for Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda. Lawson, however, as Red Bull's reserve, continues to do all he can to get another chance in F1 one day.