Juan Pablo Montoya criticises Liam Lawson approach that might impact his Red Bull chances

Follow us on Google Discover

Liam Lawson drew some attention to his Formula 1 comeback when he got into a few on-track skirmishes with Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez.

The 21-year-old first got into a heated battle with Fernando Alonso on track during the US GP weekend, which led to a moment in parc ferme between the pair.

Alonso vowed to take payback on the track by attempting to spoil his lap in qualifying, although this was later shown to be pointless through a series of team radio transcripts between Liam Lawson and his engineer.

Lawson would next get into a battle on track with Sergio Perez at the Mexican GP, whereby the Red Bull driver made contact with him and damaged his sidepod. This effectively ruined his race, with Perez voicing his anger at Lawson over team radio.

Juan Pablo Montoya has criticised Lawson when speaking on W Radio Columbia, outlining why he thinks it was not a smart move to race Perez hard.

Juan Pablo Montoya says Liam Lawson is costing Red Bull points

It is no secret that Lawson’s performance at RB in the final races this season could have a bearing on whether they promote him to the bigger team alongside Max Verstappen for 2025.

Perez has been underperforming and is potentially in breach of his contract for next season, which means Lawson is under close scrutiny by Red Bull bosses to see if he is a good fit.

The last two races have seen him potentially cost them important points in their Constructors’ Championship battle according to Montoya.

“I don’t know what game Liam plays. I understand that he wants to show that he is better than Checo, but the only thing Liam is doing is taking points from Red Bull,” said Montoya.

Liam Lawson in ‘perfect’ scenario to replace Sergio Perez

Perez has failed to finish in the top five places since this year’s Miami GP and currently sits eighth in the Drivers’ standings, nearly 150 points behind Max Verstappen.

Lawson has beaten Perez in the last two races, with the New Zealander ‘ridiculing’ him over his driving in Brazil as he looks increasingly likely to be considered by Red Bull.

READ MORE: Who is Visa Cash App RB driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Red Bull can fire Perez and rumours suggest that it could even happen before the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The team is no stranger to making these types of cut-throat decisions, having recently cut ties to Daniel Ricciardo to give Lawson a chance.

Lawson is said to be in the ‘perfect’ scenario to replace Perez at Red Bull, as he is currently outperforming him on track while Verstappen looks set to win a fourth title in the same car.