“We actually caught up with Liam on the Wednesday before the Australian Grand Prix. “I’ve lived a very interesting and exciting life and I’ve met many, many famous people or celebrities or whatever you call them. “Obviously, I’d be there if I was needed for whatever reason because I do think he’s very talented.” “It’s […]
“We actually caught up with Liam on the Wednesday before the Australian Grand Prix.
“I’ve lived a very interesting and exciting life and I’ve met many, many famous people or celebrities or whatever you call them.
“Obviously, I’d be there if I was needed for whatever reason because I do think he’s very talented.”
“It’s been a lot harder than I think he thought it would be,” Quinn said of Lawson’s time alongside Max Verstappen.
Last week, Lawson was bumped from Red Bull Racing in place of former teammate Yuki Tsunoda. The New Zealander will return to Racing Bulls after just two grands prix.
“Let’s not give up hope on him,” he added.
Lawson found himself on the back foot following the opening race weekend of the season as he struggled for pace and ultimately crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix.
“I actually think it’ll be good for him,” Quinn told Speedcafe.
Lawson will line up for Racing Bulls alongside Isack Hadjar at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
A popular figure with strong local support, Quinn suggested Lawson would not be short of supporters offering words of encouragement.
A week later, he had a dismal weekend in Shanghai with the pressure ultimately proving too much for Red Bull’s management.
“The feel was that, if he didn’t improve by Japan – because in theory Japan should be good – that he would be replaced with Tsunoda,” Quinn said.
It follows two dismal weekends as Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, and other stakeholders with Red Bull took decisive early action.
“If I reflect on all that stuff, there was so much hype about what he was about to do, or the opportunity he was given and blah, blah, blah, and I think with the poor result in Australia, it’s just taken the wind out of his sail.
Opening practice in Suzuka begins on Friday.
“He’s a nice kid,” Quinn insisted.
“But I have never seen… We were with Liam and we were bloody crushed in the excitement with fans, just random fans – I’m talking about just in the hotel and going for a meal.
Lawson was the inaugural recipient of a grant for international drivers from the Tony Quinn Foundation, receiving help during the 2022 season as he graduated to Formula 2.
Quinn has been an influential figure for Lawson, who has enjoyed backing from the Tony Quinn Foundation as he climbed the ladder to F1.
“He came to New Zealand over the summer break, we caught up a few times.
“He would have been getting a phone call every hour with support – meaningful support,” he reasoned.
That continued the following two years as he campaigned in Super Formula and worked as a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing.
Racing Bulls determined to help Lawson shine
He is now an ambassador for the foundation.
“It’s not the time to f***ing rage at Liam right now. I think he just needs a bit of support along the way.
“He’s definitely got the talent, he just needs to have a reboot and once he gets on the road again, he’ll be fine.”
“I think that’s a bit of a surprise because all the testing that he’s done and the simulator stuff was pointing in a very positive direction.”
The silver lining to Liam Lawson’s brutal axing
“Carrying on for another event, and if it didn’t work out well, it would be worse for him I think – I think he’d be f***ing near suicidal, to be quite honest.”
As things panned out, the decision was accelerated with the move officially termed a “driver rotation,” leaving the door open for the 22-year-old to return to the main team at a later date – and potentially even this season.
The decision to make the switch was announced last Thursday and came as no great surprise.
Quinn’s insight tracks with sources who initially suggested Lawson would have until after the Japanese GP to prove his worth.
“I’m a bit like an old-fashioned headmaster; I’ll f***ing praise you when you do something well, and I’ll rage when you don’t do anything great.
“That was the early talk, and that’s obviously what’s happened. But it’s happened an event before we thought.”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen that up close. It’s almost like a Hollywood fanaticism. I’ve never seen that before.
