Christian Horner backs Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar amid criticism after Australian GP crashes

The 2025 Formula 1 season kicked off with a dramatic Australian Grand Prix, leaving plenty of uncertainty about what’s ahead. Despite Max Verstappen’s second-place finish, for Red Bull, it was a difficult weekend, as both new signing Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar crashed at Turn 2 in separate incidents on Sunday.

Lawson’s race ended on lap 47 when he lost control in the rain and hit the wall, capping off a tough weekend. He had already failed to complete Saturday’s qualifying and missed the final practice session due to reliability issues.

“It was a difficult weekend for him,” said Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, per F1’s official website. “We changed the car to put a bit more downforce on it. It’s a very hard track to overtake at. We took a risk of leaving him out longer… at exactly the point it started to rain more, so it’s difficult to blame him for that last bit.”

Despite the struggles, Horner pointed to a silver lining: “The one flash of light that he can take out of it is that on the dry tyres, he actually posted the second fastest lap time of the Grand Prix with a 22.9 versus Max’s 23.0 and Lando’s 22.1… So if there was one positive we can take, it was that his pace on the dry was not too bad.”

Lawson crashed during the Lap 47 of the Australian GP (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Hadjar’s emotional debut and Red Bull’s mixed response

Hadjar’s first F1 weekend had been promising up to his crash, as he narrowly missed out on the top 10 in qualifying, making him the fastest rookie over a single lap. He had also topped the rookie timesheets in two of the three practice sessions.

After his early exit, the 20-year-old was visibly emotional, walking through the paddock in tears before being consoled by Anthony Hamilton, father of Lewis. Red Bull’s advisor Helmut Marko was unimpressed. “Isack Hadjar did a little bit of crying after his crash. That was a bit embarrassing,” Marko told ORF.

Isack Hadjar of France and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls reacts after crashing (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Horner, however, was more understanding. “It was quite heart-wrenching to see him so gutted,” he said. “You forget that these guys are just kids really, and obviously, there’s a lot of emotion for him. But when he strips it back, there’s an awful lot of positives that he can take out of the weekend. He’s got many bright days ahead of him.”

Verstappen remains a threat despite Red Bull’s woes

While the Red Bull RB21 is not yet at the level of McLaren’s MCL39, Max Verstappen still managed to disrupt F1’s fastest team throughout the weekend. Any doubts about his motivation amid Red Bull’s struggles were quickly dispelled, as he sent a clear message that he remains a championship contender.