Daniil Kvyat: Lawson has nothing to lose alongside Max Verstappen
Former driver for Red Bull and Toro Rosso, Daniil Kvyat believes that if Liam Lawson has significant responsibilities due to being integrated into Red Bull Racing for his very first season as a full-time F1 driver, he can only surprise positively, especially in comparison to Sergio Perez.

Daniil Kvyat, during an interview with RacingNews365, spoke about Liam Lawson’s arrival alongside Max Verstappen.
A challenge to tackle for the rookie
“It’s certain, it can be a challenge,” asserted the former F1 Red Bull driver. “It’s also a different environment compared to a smaller team. The stakes do indeed differ between Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, for example. More resources, more sponsors, mathematically means more expectations regarding the drivers’ results.”
He also reminds that everyone has their own way of adapting to a new environment. In this sense, it is very difficult to predict how Liam Lawson will integrate into the team: « It’s personal [the way each driver adapts] ».
Lawson can bring to the team
« But in the end, maybe with a fresh mindset and by being thrown into the deep end, it’s even better to learn everything from scratch », notes the Russian. « You never know, it might always play in [Liam]’s favor. Having a fresh mindset is sometimes a good thing », he insists. With a different approach, the Kiwi could potentially provide different feedback on the 2025 car, which would allow engineers to steer the car’s development in another direction.
The difficulties of Sergio Perez, an advantage for Lawson
« It’s actually very good, he has nothing to lose », insisted Daniil Kvyat. « He can just go with a completely free mindset, and even if he’s two or three tenths off, it’s okay because Perez really struggled. » If he had replaced Perez at the start of the 2024 season, for example, it would have been more difficult for Lawson to make a place for himself in the team: with several consecutive podiums, the Mexican driver did not immediately show significant signs of weakness. Lawson would probably have been expected to do the same. That’s not the case at the beginning of the 2025 season.
So, he just has to go and chip away at the lap time a little, and maybe Max will start to feel the pressure, he adds. The four-time world champion is indeed not used to being closely followed by his teammate, let alone by a rookie.
« We have no expectations, this can really work in his favor, but there are certainly many other things against him. » For Kvyat, Lawson’s rookie status implies that everyone thinks he will need time to adapt to be competitive, especially against Max Verstappen. If Liam Lawson surprises, it will only be in a positive way.
However, this is of course only Daniil Kvyat’s opinion: Helmut Marko, on the other hand, stated that on the contrary, Liam Lawson cannot be content with just trying to score points; he will really have to help the team progress in the standings: « He must become a regular points scorer and assist Max when necessary, not just try », he stated to OE24 in February.