Alex Albon has lifted the lid on why drivers struggle to be Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate as pressure rises on current star Liam Lawson.
It comes following their indifferent start to the 2025 season, with Verstappen placing fourth in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, while team-mate Lawson slumped to 15th in the standings.
Speculation is continuing to swirl around the New Zealander’s future with the side, with reports from Motorsport.com claiming that he is at risk of being swapped out for Yuki Tsunoda as soon as the Japanese Grand Prix on April 6.
Lawson crashed out on lap 46 as the slippery conditions in Melbourne took their toll on multiple drivers in the opening race of the season.
Now, Albon – who was team-mates with Verstappen during his time as a Red Bull driver – has explained the difficulties that he faced.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast back in 2023, Albon said: ‘Truthfully, the car is what it is. But he [Verstappen] is very quick. He has quite a unique driving style actually.
Speculation is continuing to swirl around Liam Lawson’s Red Bull future amid his poor form
It comes following an indifferent start to the 2025 season, with Max Verstappen placing fourth
Verstappen’s former Red Bull team-mate Alex Albon reflected on his time at Red Bull
‘It’s not that easy to get along with. I would say my driving style is a bit more on the smooth side but I like a car that has a good front end. So quite sharp, quite direct.
‘Max does too but his level of sharp and direct is a whole different level. It’s eye wateringly sharp. To give people an explanation what that might feel like… I don’t know if you play computer games at all?
‘But if you bump up the sensitivity completely to the max and you move that mouse, it’s just darting across the screen everywhere. That’s kind of how it feels. It becomes so sharp that it makes you a little bit tense.
‘And so what ended up happening was, especially during my year, you start off being a little bit behind and then as the season goes on, Max wants his car to be sharper.
‘And as it goes sharper, he goes quicker… and for you to catch up, you have to start taking a few more risks. It just starts to snowball. Every time the car becomes sharper and sharper, you start to become more tense.
‘I think it’s like any sport. If you start to not be in that flow state and you’re having to really think about it, you don’t have that confidence in the car’.
In total, Albon’s time as a Red Bull race driver lasted from August 2019 to December 2020, after being promoted from Toro Rosso.
Meanwhile, Lawson debuted as a reserve driver at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix for AlphaTauri, replacing Daniel Ricciardo.
Some reports claim that Lawson’s (pictured) position in Red Bull’s second seat is under threat
Albon spent one year with Red Bull after being promoted by sister team Toro Rosso
He would later go on to replace Ricciardo before being again promoted ahead of the 2025 season to succeed former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.
Elsewhere, Dutch media report that the decision to axe Lawson has left Verstappen disappointed, with it reported that the Dutchman disagreed with the brutal callthat is set to be confirmed soon.
Christian Horner said of Lawson’s future after the Chinese Grand Prix: ‘We know there’s performance 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, you need to have a second car in play.
‘So, we want, as a team, collectively, 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.
‘Formula 1 is a pressure business, isn’t it? There’s always time pressure. He [Lawson] knows that, and hopefully, he’ll respond accordingly. We’ll see where we go.’