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Liam Lawson’s struggles: Did Red Bull make a huge mistake by snubbing Sergio Perez?

Red Bull’s decision to fire Sergio Perez has now backfired as Liam Lawson is struggling to drive the RB 21 car. VCARB’s drivers performed better in the last two races.

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Venkatakrishnan
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Sergio Perez snubbing has backfired Red Bull after Liam Lawson's poor show in F1 2025 season

Liam Lawson & Perez Photograph: (Instagram)

Former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez or Checo Perez trended on social media during the 2025 F1 Chinese Grand Prix. The reason was Red Bull driver Liam Lawson’s poor show at the Shanghai International Circuit. The recently inducted driver was miles away from his teammate Max Verstappen at the Chinese GP in terms of pace and results. Max finished in P4, while Lawson started from P20 and ended in P15, with Yuki Tsunoda finishing in P19 with an unlucky broken wing and Fernando Alonso in P20 retiring due to a brake failure.

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Perez is trending back

Many fans who booed Sergio Perez last year for his poor show will now understand how hard it is to drive the Red Bull car. The biggest highlight is their sister team VCARB performing better than Red Bull in both races. The Snappy RB 21 is too difficult for Lawson to handle and he struggles to push the car further during races.

As clouds loom over his future inside the team, Red Bull is now facing the wrath of Sergio Perez fans for snubbing the Mexican driver for not performing well in just one season. Perez is a brilliant driver who performed well for Red Bull from 2021 to 2023. Just last year, he found the balance of his RB 20 car more difficult and dropped behind the rest of the grid.

Many former drivers discouraged Perez for his poor show and wanted Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda to replace him. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko released Perez from their driver contract and Liam Lawson was called in. But their nightmare is chasing them faster than their car, as the first two races of the 2025 season were a disaster for the young Kiwi.

Red Bull car tailor-made for Max

Former Red Bull drivers and experts say the Red Bull car was made for Max Verstappen’s driving style. The Red Bull F1 car has a sharper front and loose rear end. After Ricciardo’s exit, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly were brought in. But they failed to perform and were de-promoted to junior teams. Gasly even won a race in Italy with a VCARB and finished on P3 in Brazil. So the problem is not with the drivers; it’s with the car.

The only driver who did brilliantly was Sergio Perez with his consistent performance from 2021 to 2023 Formula 1 seasons. Checo even won some of the races for Red Bull. The only year he faced the issue was last year, when the upgrades made the car lose its balance. The Austrian energy drink manufacturers' decision to fire Perez has now completely backfired and even if they bring in Yuki Tsunoda, there is no guarantee that he will perform well for Red Bull.

Also Read: Reports: Red Bull considering Yuki Tsunoda for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix

Formula 1 Red Bull Sergio Perez F1 Liam Lawson