Formula 1: What does Red Bull sacking Christian Horner mean for Liam Lawson?

NZ Herald

3 days ago

Red Bull look a shadow of the side that won 22 out of 23 races in 2023, and the revolving door of drivers in the team's second seat has ultimately caused more problems than it solved.
The only thing keeping them afloat is world champion Max Verstappen, even if he's destined to lose that title to one of the two McLaren cars.
In short, Horner has overseen Red Bull squandering the most dominant position in the team's history. On his watch, key personnel have departed the team, weakening Red Bull and strengthening other teams at the same time.
The Herald understands Verstappen's last contract contains a performance clause meaning he can leave Red Bull, depending on where they stand in the constructors championship at this year's summer break.
Max Verstappen has enjoyed great success with Red Bull. Photo / Red Bull
And given the current links between Verstappen and Mercedes for 2026, it would be very surprising if that clause doesn't still exist in the deal he's currently signed to, through to 2028.
That's not to mention the widely understood disconnect between Horner and Jos Verstappen, father of Max Verstappen, dating back to 2016.
Make no mistake, this move is Red Bull's last-ditch attempt to keep Verstappen. Surely, that's the first – and realistically – only job for Laurent Mekies, who's been named to step in as both team principal and chief executive.
Over the past 18 months, Mekies has proven to be one of the most understated team principals on the grid.
He's been instrumental in Red Bull's junior side currently sitting seventh in the constructors standings and guiding the likes of Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda, and most importantly Liam Lawson.
Having been demoted by Red Bull and Horner just two races into this season, Lawson has started to rebuild at Racing Bulls, under Mekies' guidance.
New Zealand driver Liam Lawson. Photo / Getty Images
And regardless of how many seats Red Bull have to fill for 2026, given Tsunoda's struggles, Mekies will now have a large say in who lines up in an RB22 in Melbourne next year.
What does that mean for Lawson, though?
For most of Lawson's time at Red Bull, Horner was understood to have been somewhat of a road block.
When Nyck de Vries was sacked by the then-AlphaTauri team in 2022, Horner ensured that Daniel Ricciardo took his place in the junior side, despite being well past his best.
And while Lawson was able to turn Horner, notably with a private test at Silverstone last year, a two-race demotion sent the Kiwi back to square one.
Short-term, not much changes for Lawson, who's impressed in patches, with points finishes in both Monaco and Austria.
However, he'll be the first one to tell you that he should be doing more, especially if he wants a Red Bull return in 2026. No driver has ever been demoted from Red Bull and later returned to the top team.
Pierre Gasly was forced to move to Alpine, while Alex Albon did the same with Williams. Sergio Perez is still waiting on his next chance, with Cadillac expected to offer him a lifeline next year.
Lawson is different though. From the moment he was dropped, Red Bull's language outlined their support for the Kiwi, while the other three had been simply thanked for their services.
Of all the Red Bull employees to succeed Horner, Mekies taking that role could give Lawson the best chance at a return to the senior side.
In the meantime, he'll need to stay on course at Racing Bulls, with an upturn in form that sees him regularly competing for and scoring points.
Liam Lawson (left) and teammate Isack Hadjar at the Miami Grand Prix. Photo / Red Bull
The flipside of that, though, is that Lawson's biggest obstacle for a Red Bull return remains unchanged.
As of right now, his competition for that Red Bull seat is Hadjar, with whom Mekies has also worked closely.
The 20-year-old has been the standout rookie on this season's grid, scoring points in five out of 12 races, and holds a nine-point advantage over his teammate.
Recent form, though, has seen Hadjar come back down to Earth. He finished 16th in Canada, was off the pace in Austria to finish 12th, and failed to finish at Silverstone after crashing into the back of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.
Having seen the struggles of Lawson after such a rapid elevation, Red Bull might be more restrained in their handling of Hadjar.
Team senior adviser Dr Helmut Marko has already ruled out any further change to the driver line-ups at both Red Bull or Racing Bulls.
That effectively leaves Lawson and Hadjar both driving to earn promotion for 2026 – as was already the case.
The only change from there, though, is that the person making the decision is someone who already understands exactly what each of his two former drivers are capable of.
Now more than ever, Lawson's future is in his own hands.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.