Christian Horner has admitted that Red Bull are ‘one-legged’ at the moment, as Liam Lawson continued his poor start to the season at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The New Zealander came home in P15, which later became P12 after the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly.
Lawson is still yet to score a point in 2025, crashing out of the opening race of the season in Melbourne, and finishing a lowly P14 in the Sprint Race on Saturday.
The 23 year old has also failed to progress in all three Q1 sessions so far this year, and qualified last for both the Sprint Race and the Grand Prix in Shanghai.
His woes have been exacerbated by Max Verstappen, who currently sits P2 in the Drivers’ Standings, highlighting Lawson’s lack of pace.
Horner: Lawson knows there’s ‘time pressure’
Red Bull are a team who never shy away from replacing underperforming drivers, and team principal Christian Horner has reiterated the fact that Lawson is under pressure.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Horner said: “You need to have a second car in play, you can’t just do it one-legged.
“Formula 1 is a pressure business, there’s always time pressure, and he (Lawson) knows that.
“Hopefully, he’ll respond accordingly, and we’ll see where we go.”
Despite the poor result, Lawson was able to pull off a couple of nice overtakes around the Shanghai International Circuit, as he tried to make his way through the field.
“Liam is a great little racer,” Horner said.
“He gets his elbows out, he races hard, he’s just struggling at the moment finding the limit with this car, getting the most out of the car.
“Of course, as a team, as a group, we’re looking to support him in the in the best way that we can.”
Red Bull prioritising ‘ultimate performance’
There has long been the feeling that Red Bull tailor their design philosophy towards Verstappen, who enjoys a very pointy car.
Like many before him, Lawson has struggled with the sensitive drive, but Horner says the team’s ideology won’t change.
“You’re always going for ultimate performance,” said Horner.
“Fast cars are never easy cars to drive, but we know that there’s performance that we need to find, and we need both drivers up there if there’s to be any chance of fighting for a Constructors’ Championship, and at the very least with the Drivers’ Championship as well.
“So, we want as a team to make sure that we’re getting the best out of both drivers and getting both cars as far up the grid as we can.”
