Red Bull team principal Christian Horner not happy with Liam Lawson's actions during the F1 Mexican GP: Reports
Recent reports claim that Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was unimpressed with Liam Lawson's audacious battle against Sergio Perez in the 2024 F1 Mexican GP. A clip of Lawson going into Red Bull's hospitality offices with Horner recently surfaced as well.
In the early stages of the Mexican GP, Liam Lawson defended aggressively against Checo to remain P10 and score a point. Both drivers were side-by-side in several corners on Lap 18, but Lawson kept his elbows out and squeezed the Mexican.
Their cars even collided during the battle, which resulted in a damaged right sidepod area on Checo's car. After the wheel-to-wheel action, the Red Bull driver slid while exiting a corner, which gave Lawson a bit of advantage to pull away.
After the race, Mexican journalist José Antonio Cortés posted a clip on X of Liam Lawson waiting for Christian Horner in Red Bull's hospitality center at the Mexican GP. In the clip, after a brief conversation with someone, Horner proceeds to go inside and escort Lawson further into the hospitality.
The journalist claimed that Horner was unhappy with the New Zealander's defense against Checo and was called for a meeting with Horner.
"Christian Horner did not like Liam Lawson's handling or attitude against @SChecoPerez and called him to his office at the end of the #MexicoGP," the journalist posted (translated from Spanish via Google).
At the end of the Mexican GP, Liam Lawson secured P16, while the home hero ended up in last place in P17.
Red Bull's Sergio Perez gives his take on his tussle with Liam Lawson at Mexican GP
Sergio Perez was unimpressed with Liam Lawson's defense in the 2024 F1 Mexican GP. Speaking to F1.com, he detailed the entire battle between him and the RB driver, how they locked horns in turns five and six, and that their collision resulted in major damage. Checo then added that the FIA did not give Lawson any penalty.
"We were making progress, we were about to get into the points early on in the race with Liam. I had the position, I was ahead into Turn 5 – he was off the track getting back, I wasn’t expecting him just to carry on straight. He took the whole side of the car off, but I don’t think it’s his fault because he doesn’t get any penalty," Perez said.
Sergio Perez shared that he spoke with Lawson about the incident. The Mexican concluded by saying that he did not think it was a good move from the youngster.
“Yeah, I just told him I think we ruined both our races – I was ahead, there was no need to come together at that point. It was Lap 11 of the race, just compromising our race, both of us. I don’t think it was a very clever move,” he added.