From the middle of the 2023 Formula 1 season up until the end of the 2024 season, there were rumors that Red Bull could look to replace the struggling Sergio Perez.
While the 2023 rumors proved untrue, as the Mexican driver was retained for 2024, and many of the early 2024 rumors also proved false, in that Perez was not swapped out in the middle of the year, the 35-year-old was indeed replaced after the 2024 season ended, even after signing a contract extension that would have kept him tied to the team through 2026.
It took all of preseason testing for similar rumors to start about the driver who was actually named Sergio Perez's replacement.
Liam Lawson's performance in testing at Bahrain International Circuit reportedly left a lot to be desired, with teammate and four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen on a completely different level.
Despite Red Bull's decline in performance last year, testing has led some to believe that they can still win this year's title with Verstappen, even though they appear to be behind McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes with Lawson behind the wheel of the RB21. Some sources described the 23-year-old New Zealander's debut as a "messy affair".
Compounding matters is the fact that there was already a contingent of folks unhappy with Lawson's promotion to Red Bull over Yuki Tsunoda, who has demonstrated a clear level of improvement since joining sister team AlphaTauri (now RB/Racing Bulls) in 2021.
Lawson has made just 11 starts and never finished in the top eight. Tsunoda has 11 top eight finishes, including three as a rookie, and while he has been in the sport for several extra years, he is still only 24 years old himself.
Could Tsunoda, whose Formula 1 career appears to be in danger after the 2025 season with Honda set to leave Red Bull for Aston Martin, be called upon to replace Lawson if Lawson's start of the season is as disastrous as testing was?
It's entirely possible, given Red Bull's extensive history of not waiting around for drivers to perform to the expected level.
But let's be realistic. Competing in the same equipment as the third winningest driver in Formula 1 history after having never before run full-time in the sport is a tall task, and nobody particularly expected Lawson to dazzle in testing, especially not after Red Bull lost more than just a step in the back half of the 2024 campaign.
Perhaps the simple reality of it is that Verstappen really is just that talented. He became the first driver to win a world championship for a team lower than second place in the constructor standings since 1983 last year, and he did it with more than twice as many wins as the next winningest driver, one who actually drives for the constructor champions.
While he did have the advantage of having the top car through the season's first few races, he and McLaren's Lando Norris were roughly level on points from the time Norris scored his first win in Miami through the end of the season.
Nobody has been able to come close to matching Verstappen in the Red Bull since Daniel Ricciardo was his teammate during the early years of his career, and while some tried to speak Perez contention into existence two years ago, he ended up with less than half the point tally of his teammate that year – and still finished second in points.
Having said that, Pierre Gasly was paired with Verstappen in 2019, and he did not last anywhere close to the entire season before Red Bull demoted him back to the sister team then known as Toro Rosso.
At that point, however, Verstappen still had single-digit career victories; not 63. So perhaps an overreaction was ironically justified after Gasly failed to pick up the pace.
It's hard to imagine Lawson getting the same sort of treatment, but that hasn't kept the early rumblings from rumbling.
The 2025 Formula 1 season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 16 with the Australian Grand Prix. ESPN is set to provide live coverage from Albert Park Circuit beginning at 11:55 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 15. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!