Christian Klin: Liam's challenge is to become a good No. 2 rider

      Christian Klin, the former Formula 1 driver who still maintains a close working relationship with Red Bull Racing, has advised his former team to give Liam Lawson the opportunity to grow and develop professionally. Lawson turned 23 just four days ago and from this season he will drive for Red Bull Racing, becoming Max Verstappen's new teammate, although he has only 11 Grands Prix for AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls.

      Pierre Gasly lasted only half a season at Red Bull Racing, and then Alex Elbon drove for the team for a year and a half, but his results weren't good enough to send him to the DTM, where he was Lawson's teammate. "Liam needs to be very deliberate," Clune said on the Business of Winning podcast. - I don't think he should go into Red Bull Racing thinking he can beat Max Verstappen, I don't think he's capable of that at this early stage of his career. His job is to be a good No. 2 driver and try to learn from the best drivers, and right now that's Max. His time will still come and it will be very interesting to see how he handles the situation, and to what extent the team will help him when he's partnered with Verstappen. Hopefully they won't put him under too much pressure. They have already made this mistake with Daniil Kvyat, Alex Elbon and other drivers, I think they have learned the lessons from that. Now Red Bull needs a racer number 2, which would consistently earn points, so that the team could again fight for the Constructors' Cup. But personally, it was quite clear to me that they needed to change something, because Sergio Perez, unfortunately, no longer showed the necessary results. In his time he perfectly coped with the case in Red Bull, but in the last year and a half he has not done well. It was difficult for him psychologically and the team had to do something about it, so they brought Liam in. I think I can understand what that means for Lawson. When you get an opportunity like this you have to grab it with both hands. All drivers dream of racing for a top team and driving the best car. The difficulty is that he has to be Verstappen's teammate, and it's up to him to make it work. I think he has the talent. He's a very fast driver and he's shown that many times. Liam can adapt very quickly and I think he's got a lot of mental toughness.