Lawson has few words for Horner after damning Red Bull comments

Lawson earned his promotion to Red Bull ahead of the 2025 season, replacing Sergio Perez after making just 11 Grand Prix appearances. However, the New Zealander struggled during his first two race weekends with the team in Australia and China, leading to his demotion to Racing Bulls and Yuki Tsunoda's promotion in his place.

Horner has now revisited the decision in his book Drive, discussing the role played by Helmut Marko in Lawson's promotion and the difficulties the driver encountered with the RB21. The former team principal admitted that he was concerned about the move from the beginning, particularly given Lawson's limited experience at the highest level of motorsport.

In his book, Horner explained that Marko supported Lawson's promotion, although he personally questioned whether the New Zealander was ready for the challenge. The former Red Bull boss believed the team was placing significant demands on a driver who was still relatively inexperienced in Formula 1.

"Liam was another racer from the junior programme and Helmut had championed the promotion, but I felt uncomfortable," the 52-year-old wrote. "He was young and inexperienced, with only eleven Formula 1 races to his name, and we would be asking a huge amount from him"

Horner also addressed Lawson's struggles during pre-season testing and the opening two Grands Prix, pointing specifically to the difficult handling characteristics of the RB21. He compared the New Zealander's situation to those of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who also struggled after receiving promotions to Red Bull.

The former team principal acknowledged the difficulty of sending Lawson back to Racing Bulls after just two races, but maintained that the initial decision to promote him was a mistake: "The move back to Racing Bulls was tough for Liam, but he really shouldn't have been promoted in the first place."

Horner's remarks about Lawson's promotion to Red Bull were brought to the New Zealander's attention during the media activities in Austin. However, Lawson admitted that he was unfamiliar with the contents of the former team principal's recently released book.

After learning that Horner considered his promotion to Red Bull a mistake, Lawson offered a brief response, choosing to focus on the time that has passed since his departure from the senior team rather than addressing the criticism directly: "It feels like a long time ago now."