Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, has given Liam Lawson some crucial advice upon his arrival at Red Bull Racing for the upcoming Formula 1 season. “Accept that Max Verstappen is the best and see how far you can get. But don’t think you’re going to beat him,” Marko said. Lawson is Verstappen’s new teammate this year, succeeding Sergio Pérez.
According to Marko, some of Lawson’s predecessors were overly ambitious, which ultimately led to their downfall. The Austrian believes that Lawson, who comes from Racing Bulls (formerly Visa RB), should always keep in mind that he is competing against the best driver of his generation at Red Bull. “He should avoid what many of Max’s former teammates have done. They tried to outsmart him with technological experiments, think of absurd setups, and strategic games,” Marko told RTL.
That is not the best approach, he continues. “Accept that Max Verstappen is the best and see how far you can get. But don’t come into our team thinking, ‘I’m going to beat him.’ That’s where all his teammates went wrong.”
According to Marko, the New Zealander will meet the team’s expectations if he manages to stay within three-tenths of the four-time world champion in both the qualifiers and the races next season. “That should be enough for points in the constructors’ championship. In addition, Lawson must continue to develop steadily,” Marko said.
