Liam Lawson reveals Sergio Perez talks after heated exchange at Mexico GP

Liam Lawson says his approach to racing others won’t change, after a battle with stablemate Sergio Perez proved bruising in Mexico.

The Kiwi driver found himself at the centre of some pointed comments from Perez after their battle at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with contact between the pair resulting in damage to the Red Bull driver’s car.

Liam Lawson: My attitude won’t change

An extra layer of flavour to the battle between Perez and Lawson is that it could be seen as a battle not only for race position, but also over the Red Bull cockpit currently occupied by Perez.

With the Mexican driver’s form proving costly to Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, Lawson is the leading candidate to succeed Perez should a change be made by Red Bull management for F1 2025, or earlier.

Having impressed during a five-race substitution run last year, Lawson has been given a six-race audition at VCARB by replacing Daniel Ricciardo and, after an impressive weekend in Austin, had a slightly more troubled weekend in Mexico as he fought Perez tooth and nail.

Lawson found himself wrong-footed by Perez into Turn 4, but kept his nose in for the right-hander at Turn 5 – resulting in a clash between the pair. Lawson was seen showing his middle finger to Perez shortly afterward as he passed the Red Bull, for which he apologised afterward.

But, speaking to media ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, Lawson said his aggression won’t be reined in while battling on track.

“My attitude towards racing and how I approach races in Formula 1 won’t change, that’s how I’ll always be,” he said.

“But, at the same time there’s things in there, if I make mistakes I’ll always learn from them, and clearly in Mexico, I made a mistake, and I’ll learn from it.

“Briefly, we spoke after the race, but at the same time, we left the track very early, immediately afterward anyway. I think it was an on-track fight and I apologise obviously for what I did after the incident.

“But in terms of the fight we had on track, it was, I guess, deemed as a racing incident and something that was an in-the-moment battle.

“I’ll learn from, maybe, mistakes that I made. But, at the same time, I’ll take advice from everybody I can and my target is not to go out and make enemies with anybody, that’s not the goal obviously, but at the same time I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win.”

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Speaking in his column for Speedweek before Brazil, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko said Lawson is ticking the boxes expected of him.

“The duel with Liam Lawson, both drivers were too impetuous,” he said. “Liam even gave his opponent the finger, for which he later apologised, which we accepted.

“[He] came back very strongly in the USA and finished ninth, and I was also impressed by the way he steadily improved in Mexico. The New Zealander would have finished in the top 10 in qualifying if it hadn’t been for the lap that Tsunoda messed up. So far, Liam Lawson has proven his qualities and confirmed the trust placed in him.”

Lawson appears to be the leading candidate for the vacant VCARB seat for F1 2025, which remains unfilled, but there is still the possibility of a chance at a seat with Red Bull. If Perez is dropped, Lawson would presumably slot in at Red Bull, with Williams rookie Franco Colapinto understood to be a target for Red Bull – presumably for VCARB.

Having waited to speak with Horner following the Mexico City race, Lawson was asked about what he had discussed with the Red Bull team boss, and whether there had been any further conversations with Marko.

“I don’t think they want me to race differently,” he said.

“But obviously the target is not to make contact with another Red Bull car, and as I said at the time it wasn’t my intention in the moment, and looking back maybe I could have avoided it and clearly that would have been the right thing to do at the time.”

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