Liam Lawson news LIVE: Red Bull latest as Kiwi replaces Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate

What can Carlos Sainz achieve at Williams?

The unfortunate odd one out. Sainz had an excellent season but due to Hamilton’s arrival and the bizarre shunning by both Mercedes and Red Bull, he has ended up at Williams.

A once-great F1 outfit, James Vowles’ ambitious project is a long-term one, with an eye on the next set of regulations in 2026. This year, they finished second-bottom and experienced 17 costly rashes.

So, what does this mean for Sainz – and speedy teammate Alex Albon – in 2025? Top-10 finishes will be the target but it remains to be seen if the Spaniard can lead Williams above the likes of Aston Martin, Alpine and Haas.

For a man who won two races this year, it will be a tough rewiring of his expectations heading into grand prix weekends.

Will we have a four-way title fight?

For the first time in F1 history, seven drivers won multiple races in 2024. It sets it up perfectly for a 2025 title race.

McLaren look to be the favourites, with Ferrari close behind. But will they be impacted by their competitive driver pairings, potentially taking points off one another?

You can never count out Max Verstappen, as he goes for five in a row in his Red Bull. And what about George Russell, team leader at Mercedes?

In the final year of this phase of regulations, the field has narrowed. The unpredictability should make for some fascinating wheel-to-wheel combat on-track.

How will Lewis Hamilton fare at Ferrari?

This is the big one.

There is so much intrigue and anticipation around the seven-time F1 world champion moving from his beloved Mercedes – after 12 years and six drivers’ titles – to the sport’s most fabled marque.

But Hamilton has endured a difficult 2024. While he did break his win-duck in Silverstone, he was outperformed by George Russell in qualifying by 19-5 and in the final standings by 22 points. In finishing seventh, it marks Hamilton’s worst-ever championship finish.

By the time the Brit takes to the scarlet red cockpit, he will be 40. Are his powers waning? Or will he be a driver reborn and remotivated, in what is likely to be a very competitive Ferrari car.

His partnership with Charles Leclerc will be the year’s predominant storyline.

Max Verstappen has decreed McLaren’s use of their “papaya rules” instruction for team orders during the 2024 F1 season as “nonsense” in a recent post-season interview.

The four-time world champion was involved in a title tussle with McLaren’s Lando Norris for most of the season, before sealing his fourth successive title in Las Vegas.

McLaren, meanwhile, were criticised by the likes of Nico Rosberg for their “papaya rules” instruction, which told Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri to take “extra care” when racing against each other.

Liam Lawson will replace Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull in 2025.

New Zealand driver Lawson, 22, has raced only 11 times in Formula One – five in 2023 and six in 2024 – but has been handed the opportunity of a lifetime after impressing in the closing races of this season. He replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB in September and will fill in for Perez, who parted ways with Red Bull on Wednesday.

Lawson has been promoted by Christian Horner ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who will race for the sister team Racing Bulls for the fifth successive year in 2025. Tsunoda has plenty of experience in F1 and would have been a strong teammate for Max Verstappen with many fans and pundits hoping to see him in a faster car following the post-season testing.

Instead, Lawson will take up the seat and look to secure his place with the team over the course of a full season.

It is expected that Red Bull junior and this year’s F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar will replace Lawson at RB. Williams’ Franco Colapinto is the other name in the fray.

As reported earlier, Liam Lawson will be the man to take Sergio Perez’s seat with the main Red Bull team in 2025 ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.

But who is the young New Zealand driver?

The 22-year-old joined the Red Bull junior team in 2019, and became the reserve driver for Red Bull in 2022. He later made his F1 debut in a reserve role at the 2023 Dutch GP, for AlphaTauri.

After Daniel Ricciardo was dropped after this year’s Singapore GP, Lawson took his place in the rebranded RB team, finishing as high as ninth in Sao Paulo and Austin.

The beginning of the end for Sergio Perez at Red Bull was further back than you think, after the Mexican finally confirmed a predictable outcome on Wednesday following a disastrous season. For it was not the embarrassing Q1 exit in Hungary in July, after a crash in practice the day before. Nor was it the expensive first-lap crash on the streets of Monacoin the spring. Instead, it was May 2023, and a time when events were altogether rosier for the now dispirited Mexican.

Heading into last year’s Miami Grand Prix, Perez was being tilted as a genuine title contender. Or rather, given Red Bull’s car dominance, Max Verstappen’s only title contender. Both drivers had split wins in the first four races and on his favoured street track configuration, Perez took pole in Florida. Verstappen started in ninth.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the past four years with Red Bull Racing and for the opportunity to race with such an amazing team,” Sergio Perez said in a statement about his departure.

“Driving for Red Bull has been an unforgettable experience, and I’ll always cherish the success we achieved together. We broke records, reached remarkable milestones and I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many incredible people along the way.

“A big thank you to every person in the team from management, engineers and mechanics, catering, hospitality, kitchen, marketing and communications, as well as everyone at Milton Keynes. I wish you all the best for the future.”

He also extended a thank you to teammate Max Verstappen, adding: “It’s also been an honour to race alongside Max as a teammate all these years and to share in our success.”

In the final part of his statement, Perez gave “a special thank you to the fans around the world, and especially to the Mexican fans for your unwavering support every day.

“We’ll meet again soon. And remember... never give up!”

For Sergio Perez it was only a matter of when rather than if Red Bull would let him go. The axe fell on Wednesday and today his replacement has been confirmed in the shape of Liam Lawson.

Perez joined the team in 2021, but this season came under increasing pressure as the Formula One campaign wore on – finishing a whopping 285 points behind his team-mate Max Verstappen as Red Bull surrendered their constructors’ championship title to McLaren.

Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive drivers’ world title while Perez, 34, finished eighth in the standings, failing to finish in the top five in his final 18 races for the team.

Horner spoke to Sky Sports regarding Sergio Perez’s future, saying: “Checo has been a fantastic member of this team, it’s been a tough year for him, but he’s a great person and played a key role in 2021 drivers’ championship.

“We sat down and discussed it last week. He’s decided to take a bit of time out, take a sabbatical from Formula 1 essentially. He’ll still be involved with the brand and the team. But he’s stepping back from driving duties moving forward.

“We’re sad to see him leave the team. It’s time for him to spend time with his family and reflect on what he wants to do for the future.”