Lawson has joined Red Bull for 2025 alongside Max Verstappen after the team parted ways with Sergio Perez.
The Mexican endured a difficult 2024 campaign in which he was comprehensively out-performed by Verstappen, who claimed his fourth successive world title.
Red Bull, however, was unable to claim another constructors’ championship as it was overhauled by both McLaren and Ferrari despite having comfortably led the competition early in the campaign.
With Perez underperforming, the squad elected to make a change and promote Lawson, who has started just 11 grands prix, in his place.
That followed a strong showing during a five-event cameo in 2023 in place of the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri (now known as Racing Bulls) before replacing the Australian following last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Embarking on what Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has termed the toughest job in F1, Lawson has revealed what will define a successful 2025 season for him.
“The team’s goal is to win the constructors’ [championship],” he said.
“They weren’t able to do that last year and that’s the clear goal going into this year.
“Obviously we’re doing the best job we can to make the car as fast as possible.
“For me, if we’re in a position that we’re fighting for winning the constructors’, then I’m doing my job.
“That’s really the team’s goal for me, and their expectation for me is that – obviously outside of my goals in Formula 1.”
While Lawson is looking to help Red Bull win the constructors’ championship, Horner has suggested a marker of success this season will be Lawson’s ability to shut out the distractions across the garage and focus on his own racing.
“Right now, the focus is pretty clear,” Lawson said.
“From outside the garage, from the team perspective and from mine, we’re wanting to adjust as quickly as possible and obviously to get up to speed.
“These tracks that we’re going to start at are going to be extra tough, because I haven’t done them.
“There’s no real expectation to go out there and start winning races from the get-go; it’s obviously going to be a process to get up to speed.
“It’s about doing that as quickly as possible and there’s no real expectation or time frame on when I think I’m going to do that, it’s just about working towards doing that as quickly as possible.
“Obviously having Max as a teammate is very valuable from a learning perspective,” he added.
“Getting to learn off everything he’s doing, there’s really nobody better to do that.
“So, yeah, it’s more about making the most and taking advantage of that, rather than thinking about it in a way that’s going to put extra pressure on me.”
The 2025 F1 season will begin in Melbourne on March 13-16 at the Australian Grand Prix.
Before then, the field will take in three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain from next Wednesday.
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