Liam Lawson has refuted the allegation he was short of confidence after his two-round stay at Red Bull to open the F1 season.
Team principal Christian Horner partly justified the decision to transfer the New Zealander for Yuki Tsunoda as part of the Milton Keynes squad’s “duty of care” towards the 23-year-old.
However, Lawson has revealed why his encounter with Max Verstappen, and the ensuing shift, was not the confidence-sapping episode as Red Bull has portrayed it out to be.
Striking a defiant tone on his return to Racing Bulls, prior to the Japanese Grand Prix, he appeared at odds with the 51-year-old over the abrupt decision, which caught him and the rest of the F1 paddock off guard.
“I think confidence-wise it doesn’t change a lot,” Lawson told media, including RacingNews365. “We all have the self-belief to be here and to make it to Formula 1. If you don’t have that self-belief, it makes it very tough.
“So I believe we all have it inherently. It doesn’t have a significant impact on my self-esteem. I believe it’s benefiting me. Obviously, Red Bull Racing felt like the best chance for me. That’s what we’re all working toward.
That’s what I’ve been striving toward since I joined the junior programs at the age of 16. So, obviously, I would have like to make that chance work, and that is in my best interests.
“But obviously, Christian [Horner] and the team will have their opinions on what’s best, and that’s up to them to decide.”
