“It’s a little bit fake”: NZ motorsport legend slams Formula 1 as Liam Lawson remains sidelined
Much like the Japanese Grand Prix, Kiwi Formula 1 fans saw glimpses of Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson during the Chinese GP broadcast, soaking in everything he can while biding his time for a seat.
It was a race weekend to forget for the RB team - Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda were involved in separate incidents that team principal Laurent Mekies labelled “unnecessary” as both failed to finish the race.
It’s been a tough 2024 for Ricciardo, who was rear-ended by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll on Sunday as normal racing was set to resume following a safety car. That’s back-to-back DNFs for the Australian driver to go with twelfth place in Melbourne, 16th at Jeddah, and 13th at the Bahrain season opener.
The pressure is on Ricciardo to perform while teammate Tsunoda has enjoyed better results with a seventh-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix, followed by tenth in his home race at Suzuka.
Waiting in the wings is Lawson, the Hawke’s Bay native whose stock continues to rise following a spectacular performance at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, knocking world champion Max Verstappen out of the top ten in qualifying and finishing ninth to score his first career points in F1.
It begs the question; when will Lawson get his shot?
Kiwi motorsport legend Greg Murphy can appreciate the situation the 22-year-old is in.
“It’s (F1) more about drama now than competition. Which for me as a purist, I’m really not enjoying so much,” Murphy told SENZ’s The Run Home.
“The reality of Formula 1 is it’s such a commercial game these days – what makes sense is not the norm. Common sense says Liam Lawson should be driving one of these cars and doing the job, but the commercial realities of everything say it different.
“He has to be taking one of these seats before too long. Ricciardo had a better weekend in comparison to Tsunoda at China. He got taken out at the end by Lance Stroll in a very bizarre set of circumstances, but at the end of the day neither of those drivers are performing at a level where Liam could be if he was in that (RB) car. And I think there’s a lot of people that realise that.”
Lawson has been given the guarantee that if he isn’t offered a seat within the Red Bull family next season, he will be able to negotiate with other teams for a place on the 20-car grid.
“I know how frustrated he is. Liam’s sitting there not doing a lot this year other than being a reserve driver, and that’s just not right. He’s got such talent and so much to offer, to be sitting on the sidelines is almost criminal,” Murphy added.
Murphy sees Formula 1 as a ‘weird form’ of motorsport with the heightened sense of drama seen in Netflix’s popular Drive to Survive series feeling more like WWE, than reality.
“Daniel Ricciardo has a huge following, he’s loved in Formula 1 – his personality is likeable, he’s a character, and Red Bull love him because F1 love him, so they’ve aligned him again with the brand.
“They all want him to be better, to be faster, and they’re making excuses left, right, and centre for his performances in the hope that (in) the next race he’s going to do this miraculous result and he’s back!
“It’s all rhetoric, it’s all storyline, it’s a little bit fake – but that’s where we’ve gotten with Formula 1. If you watch Drive to Survive, it’s sensationalised beyond belief. It has lost its way and its sense of reality, and it’s a shame.
“There’s so much at stake, so much money, there’s too much focus on that and not enough on the sporting side and that’s where Liam has unfortunately found himself. He’s in that no man’s land where everyone knows he should be there, but he’s from New Zealand and we only sell a few cans of Red Bull every year versus what they do in Mexico or Australia.
“Unfortunately, that stuff by the looks of it, is more important to Red Bull than actually having another driver that can finish second to Max Verstappen every single race that Max wins.”
F1 racing resumes May 6 (8am NZ time) when the paddock returns to Miami. Red Bull currently sits first in the constructor standings, 44 points clear of Ferrari, while RB are in sixth with seven points, 33 behind Aston Martin.
Listen to the full interview with Greg Murphy below: