Lawson and Pérez: Old rivalry revived at the Australian Grand Prix

Lawson and Pérez Revive Rivalry in the Australian Grand Prix

The rivalry between Liam Lawson and Sergio Pérez, which dates back two years, resurfaced at the Australian Grand Prix, where both drivers battled for positions in the season’s opening race. The tension between Lawson and Pérez dates back to the 2024 season. At that time, Lawson, who was competing for Racing Bulls, was considered a possible replacement for Pérez in the main Red Bull team for 2025. A key moment of that season was at Pérez’s home race in Mexico, where Lawson had to apologize for a gesture made from his single-seater. Although Lawson finally replaced Pérez for 2025, he only lasted two races at Red Bull before being relegated again to Racing Bulls. Pérez, for his part, returned to F1 with Cadillac and found himself competing with his old rival in his first race. Both drivers nearly collided at Turn 3, forcing Lawson off the track. However, the Racing Bulls driver managed to overtake Pérez at Turn 11.

“I can’t stand that guy,” Lawson said over the team radio after the overtake.

Liam Lawson

Pérez, for his part, seemed disconcerted by Lawson’s driving.

“Haha! What’s wrong with this guy?”, Pérez asked over the Cadillac radio.

Sergio Pérez

After the race, Lawson seemed convinced that Pérez’s aggressive defense was related to their history.

“Two years later and he still hasn’t gotten over it!” Lawson said. “He’s fighting me like it’s for the world championship and we’re in 16th position.”

Liam Lawson

Lawson added that he didn’t care much, as his career was already ruined at that point, and that it wasn’t anything illegal, just aggressive. Pérez downplayed the incident and did not mention past rivalry.

“It was a bit of fun racing,” said Pérez. “I was in a much slower car, so I was just trying to race.”

Sergio Pérez

Lawson finished the race in 13th place, while Pérez finished in 16th, three laps behind. Lawson commented that any hope of getting a good result disappeared at the start, when he had a bad start from eighth on the grid and fell to the back of the group.

“I had no power,” he explained. “I went out and lost all the power. I was just sitting there and couldn’t get it back, and a few seconds later I got it back and then I had wheelspin. I don’t know what happened, I didn’t have that in testing”.

Liam Lawson