Horner reacts to Lawson’s difficulties in China: « We’re going to do what we can to help him »

This weekend in China, not everything went as planned for Liam Lawson. The New Zealand driver, who is only in his second race with Red Bull, faced a particularly stressful situation at the Shanghai International Circuit. After difficult qualifications, he found himself relegated to 20th place for the Sprint and, as if under a bad star, he finished in the same place after being eliminated in the first round of qualifications for the Grand Prix.

Lawson had never done a lap of the Shanghai International Circuit before this weekend, explains Christian Horner, a statistic that in itself speaks to the challenges he faces. He admitted after his qualifying session that his lap was not good enough, an awareness that says a lot about the pressure felt by this young driver. However, he managed to climb to 14th place at the end of the Sprint.

Christian Horner on Pérez’s replacement

Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, had more than measured words about Lawson‘s performance. When asked about this replacement of Sergio Pérez by the young driver, Horner explained that it was not an easy situation. « He had a tough day today », he said to Sky F1 after the qualifying. A brutal but honest assessment.

Indeed, the question that arises is: Can Lawson effectively replace Pérez? After all, Pérez is an experienced driver, while Lawson is only at the beginning of his career. When Ted Kravitz from Sky F1 mentioned that Pérez had been replaced to have a faster driver, Horner responded with some caution: “We will look at the matter closely and do what we can to help him.”

Max Verstappen, on his side, had a somewhat more satisfying day, although he admitted that the competition was fierce. He qualified fourth, behind the McLarens and George Russell, but he is confident about his chances during the race. « The three cars in front of me were faster than my Red Bull in qualifying », he admitted.

But Horner believes that the race in Shanghai could offer strategic opportunities, particularly due to tire sensitivity. « It’s quite tight at the front there, and I think we’ve tried a few things to hopefully help in the race tomorrow. A tenth and a half to pole, we were purple in the first sector, but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough tires at the end of the lap », he explained. Meaning that everything will not just be about starting position, but rather tire management and race strategy.

A question of strategy and tires

While Red Bull was expecting a difficult strategic race, tire management remains a key factor. Horner emphasized the sensitivity of the tires on this circuit: « These tires are very sensitive, and we saw in the earlier sprint race, different graining, different cars working in different ways, and so I don’t think pole position is essential for this race. »

« Everything will be a matter of strategy », added Horner, regarding how they will manage the tire, a crucial component for performance. A detail could well be the key to a good performance for Verstappen and potentially for Lawson, if he manages to capitalize on strategic opportunities during the race.