Red Bull Faces Unique Challenge With Verstappen’s Dominance, Says Mechanic

A Red Bull insider has revealed a major challenge the team faces with four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who continues to be a dominant force in Formula 1.

Verstappen’s skills were on full display last season as he secured a fourth consecutive drivers’ championship, even when his car wasn’t always the fastest. However, Red Bull struggled in the constructors’ championship, with Sergio Perez finding it difficult to keep up alongside the Dutchman.

Max Verstappen to be Joined by New Teammate for 2025

For the upcoming season, Perez has been replaced by junior driver Liam Lawson, who will be Verstappen’s new teammate. Lawson, promoted from Red Bull’s junior team, will face one of the toughest jobs in motorsport: trying to finish near the front without interfering too much with Verstappen’s championship bid.

The Max Verstappen Challenge for Red Bull

Ahead of the 2025 season, Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas discussed the difficulties of pairing drivers with Verstappen. On the High Performance podcast, Nicholas explained that Verstappen’s incredible resilience is one of the biggest challenges for his teammates.

“Max can have a bad weekend where the car isn’t great, but he will still drag something out of it,” said Nicholas. “For a lot of his teammates, it’s hard to see that. You might put in a good lap and think you’ve done your best, but Max will always find more.”

Nicholas added that this can mentally affect other drivers, saying, “It’s tough for teammates when they see Max getting more from the car, even when they’ve already pushed hard. It takes a toll mentally, even though it’s not Max’s fault – he’s just doing his job.”

As Lawson prepares for his debut alongside Verstappen, it remains to be seen how he will cope with the pressure of being in the shadow of one of F1’s greatest drivers.