Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Grand Prix Photo
World champion Max Verstappen has doubled down on his backing of an Instagram post criticising Red Bull’s decision to demote Liam Lawson to Racing Bulls after just two races.
Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde was very critical of the decision on his Instagram account, writing a few hours after the announcement that what Red Bull had done to Lawson was “closer to bullying”.
“I’m getting a bit tired of all the comments that F1 is the toughest sport in terms of performances and when you under-deliver you’ve got to face the consequences,” the Dutchman wrote.
“Yes, you’ve got to perform. Yes, the pressure is insane. But in my opinion this comes closer to bullying or a panic move than actual high athlete achievements.
“They made a decision, fully aware, gave Liam two races only to crush his spirit. Don’t forget the dedication, hard work and success Liam has put in his career so far to achieve the level where he is now.”
New Zealander Lawson struggled in his first two races as a Red Bull driver and the team decided to replace him with Yuki Tsunoda from this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Lawson and former team-mate Max Verstappen in Shanghai
The decision has been widely criticised, and Red Bull admitted that promoting Lawson so early had been a mistake.
Van der Garde’s Instagram post was ‘liked’ by Verstappen’s account soon after it was published.
On Thursday, the four-time world champion faced F1 media for the first time since the news was announced, and made it clear he stood by his decision, denying the ‘like’ was a mistake.
“I liked the comment, the text, so I guess that speaks for itself, right? It was not a mistake,” Verstappen was quoted a saying by Sky Sports F1.
Several F1 drivers, including Max Verstappen, have shown their support for Liam Lawson by liking an Instagram post that accuses Red Bull of crushing his spirit with behaviour that approaches "bullying"
The Red Bull driver said he had given his thoughts about the decision internally to his team, but refused to elaborate on what was discussed.
“My reaction was shared with the team but in general, about not only the swap, but about everything. We discussed that already during last weekend and back at the factory.
“Everything has been shared with the team, how I think about everything. Sometimes it’s not necessary to always share everything in public. I think it’s better.”