Christian Horner shares his ‘honest’ verdict on Liam Lawson’s US Grand Prix performance after RB return

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Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner will have mixed feelings about the United States Grand Prix weekend.

On the positive side for Christian Horner, he witnessed Max Verstappen win the Sprint Race and cling onto a podium ahead of his closest championship rival Lando Norris.

However, Red Bull couldn’t match the pace of Ferrari during the race and McLaren will feel they should have had a driver on the podium instead of Verstappen were it not for a controversial penalty that Norris received late in the race.

Sergio Perez had another difficult weekend, failing to score points in the Sprint Race and once again finishing last out of the eight drivers from the top four teams besides Lewis Hamilton after he crashed out early in the race.

There’s also plenty of attention on Red Bull’s sister team RB as a result of the difficult position Perez finds himself in.

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Yuki Tsunoda is said to be a contender to replace Perez but he wasn’t the RB driver that stood out during the United States Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson drove from 19th to a top-ten finish and matched his best result from his previous spell in the team last season.

Horner spoke to Sky Sports F1 after the race and gave his honest verdict on Lawson’s performance.

With five Grand Prix weekends remaining, Lawson will take plenty of confidence going into next weekend’s race in Mexico City.

He will have reaffirmed his feeling that he can more than match Tsunoda and potentially become the latest driver to earn a rapid promotion to the Red Bull team.

Christian Horner lauds ‘veteran’ performance from Liam Lawson at the US Grand Prix

Asked what he takes from Lawson’s race in Austin, Horner said: “Well, it’s a sample of one and I thought he jumped in and he looked like a veteran to be honest with you.

“I mean, he’s a great racer. I think he can be very happy with that drive today.

“I thought he drove a great Grand Prix, I mean starting 19th, finishing in the points with some great overtakes.

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“I mean, he should be pleased with that!”

Jenson Button then added: “He upset Fernando Alonso so you know he’s a feisty character on track, don’t you?”

Horner replied: “Yeah, when you’re upsetting Fernando on track you know that you’re doing something right!

“So, he’s a tough, hard racer.”

Why Martin Brundle thinks Liam Lawson proved he can be a Red Bull driver

Lawson went into the race with very little pressure on him given his starting position.

He set one of the fastest laps of Q1 but was only deployed in Q2 to give Tsunoda a tow as he already knew he would be starting at the back of the grid due to power unit penalties.

Tsunoda couldn’t reach the top ten shootout even after receiving Lawson’s help, but he was furious midway through the race when he realised he had been undercut by his less experienced teammate.

Martin Brundle spotted one moment that proved Lawson has what it takes to race for Red Bull and that gives Horner another conundrum to solve.

Perez survived a vote of confidence during the summer break after failing to avoid activating clauses in his contract that would allow Red Bull to terminate his deal.

The Mexican has a deal for 2025, but those same clauses still exist and could be enacted over the winter if Lawson continues to impress.