Lawson brushes off Zak Brown’s jab: ‘I couldn’t care less’

Red Bull’s Liam Lawson has shrugged off a pointed critique from McLaren CEO Zak Brown with the kind of nonchalance that hints at a driver determined to let his performance do the talking.

Brown recently stirred the pot, suggesting that Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda deserved the Red Bull seat over Lawson – a comment that landed just as the New Zealander endured a bruising debut with the senior team at the Australian Grand Prix.

But Lawson, unflappable in the face of the barb, dismissed it outright, signaling his focus lies firmly on the races ahead, not the opinions swirling in the paddock.

The 23-year-old’s first outing with Red Bull in Melbourne was a baptism by fire. A Q1 elimination set the tone, and a subsequent crash in the race cut his weekend short, leaving him the lowest-placed driver among Red Bull’s stable.

Meanwhile, Tsunoda – the man Brown championed – shone brightly, steering his Racing Bulls machine into the top five in qualifying.

Brown seized the moment, calling Red Bull’s decision to promote Lawson “strange” and implying Tsunoda’s form warranted the nod. For the Kiwi, however, the McLaren boss’s words barely registered.

A Defiant Response to the Noise

“I couldn’t care less what Zak says, to be honest with you,” Lawson told the media in Shanghai on Thursday, his tone as steady as it was dismissive.

“I don’t think I’ve spoken to him, ever and I haven’t read any social media over the last two weeks.”

It’s a statement that underscores his intent to tune out the chatter and zero in on his role at Red Bull, where he’s been tasked with bolstering the team’s Constructors’ Championship campaign alongside Max Verstappen.

Lawson’s Melbourne setback may have exposed his early struggles with the RB21 – he admitted he was “slow” in practice – but Lawson’s indifference to Brown’s dig reveals a driver unwilling to let external voices derail his focus.

Turning the Page After Melbourne

For Lawson, the sting of Australia is already fading, replaced by an eagerness to tackle a packed schedule that offers a swift chance at redemption.

With four races in the next five weeks, including a triple-header following a brief respite after China, he sees opportunity in the chaos.

“Always as a driver, if you have a good weekend, sometimes you want to sit on it for a little bit,” he said. “Then you have a bad weekend, you just want to go racing again. So for me, yes, it’s good.

“But also, [it’s good] to have lots of races at the start of the season. We have a week off [after China] and then a triple header.

“With how sort of little experience having this car, it’s just going to be good to do more weekends to get more comfortable and familiar.”

Each lap, each corner, is a chance to refine his craft and silence doubters—not least those like Brown who question his place in the pecking order.

Read also: Horner defends Lawson after Melbourne opening bust

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