Liam Lawson’s Red Bull nightmare sinks to horror depths at Chinese GP

F1 rookie Liam Lawson has found himself under increasing scrutiny, with fans savaging the youngster after his latest failure.

Liam Lawson’s first official season as a full-time driver has gone from bad to a downright nightmare.

The 23-year-old who was promoted to the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen has failed to fire for the second straight race weekend.

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After failing to finish the opening race of the season, Lawson would have been hoping to show his team more promising signs at the Chinese Grand Prix.

In what is the first race weekend to feature a sprint race for the 2025 season, Lawson and his fellow drivers only had one practice session before diving into qualifying.

While others found their feet, Lawson never looked comfortable around the Shanghai International Circuit.

It ultimately came to an end with the New Zealand youngster being knocked out in the first session of sprint qualifying with the slowest time of every driver on the grid.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Liam Lawson. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

As Lawson trudged back to the Red Bull garage, Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok was breaking down where it all went wrong for Lawson and delivered a blunt truth to the youngster.

Watch the moment in the video player above

“The body language I’m seeing from Lawson, in contrast to Verstappen, he doesn’t have the confidence to attack the corner entries,” Karun Chandhok said on Sky Sports.

“He’s tentative, he’s nervous, he’s not comfortable or confident driving that car.

“It’s a clear sign of a driver who is not at one with the car.”

Karun delivered a brutal truth bomb for the rookie. Credit: Fox

While Lawson has a chance to redeem himself during the sprint race and in qualifying for the main race, he has now been eliminated in the opening session of his first two qualifying efforts in the Red Bull.

Fans watching on wasted no time in calling out the youngster, with many calling for Yuki Tsunoda to replace him in the seat.

We Are the Races Joshua Suttill wrote on X: “Properly worrying start for Liam Lawson. Thrown in at the deep end with such limited experience but I can’t think of a worse start to life at Red Bull.”

A second added: “Is it too early to say that Liam Lawson may be the worst driver Red Bull have ever had in one of their cars in their history?”

A third wrote: “Yuki Tsunoda outqualifies Liam Lawson again. Doing a mega job in the Racing Bulls.”

A fourth added: “Red Bull ... just admit the mistake and put Yuki in as Max’s teammate.”

Lawson hasn’t been able to figure out the Red Bull. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Race starting grid

Front row: Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

Second row: Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Third row: George Russell (Mercedes), Lando Norris (McLaren)

Fourth row: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)

Fifth row: Alex Albon (Williams), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

Sixth row: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Oliver Bearman (Haas)

Seventh row: Carlos Sainz (Williams), Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber)

Eighth row: Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Jack Doohan (Alpine)

Ninth row: Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Esteban Ocon (Haas)

Tenth row: Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber), Liam Lawson (Red Bull)