Christian Horner has admitted that Red Bull are in 'danger' of being left with egg on their face after pairing Max Verstappen with Liam Lawson for next season.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Sergio Perez had reached an agreement to leave the team a year ahead of schedule. He was promptly replaced by Lawson, who impressed during a short spell at VCARB towards the end of the campaign.
The other seat at Red Bull alongside Verstappen has been something of a poisoned chalice in recent seasons. Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon both failed to impress as the Dutchman's partner in crime before experiencing success at other teams.
Perez, meanwhile, started well enough after joining Red Bull but was nowhere near Verstappen's level in the final two years before his exit.
Asked if there was a risk of Lawson falling down a similar path despite showing plenty of promise, Horner said: "The danger is there's a repeat of that, but I think that Liam is a different character.
"He's a different personality to be able to deal with that pressure. I think he's shown real resilience and strength of character with the opportunity that’s been provided to have to turn up and get on with it and deliver."
In the past, some Red Bull drivers have struggled to handle the setup of the car being geared towards Verstappen. He is known to prefer a 'pointy' front end, allowing the car to rotate into corners more quickly than usual.
Horner believes Lawson's similar driving style to Verstappen will help him to adapt and ultimately succeed where others have failed.
"He drives the car in a similar fashion to Max," added the Red Bull team principal. "He doesn't shy away from having a very positive front end in the car so I think in terms of driving characteristics, it will be easier for the cars to run more closely together."
Horner went on to insist that he is not expecting Lawson to rival Verstappen straight away, knowing that it will take time for him to settle into his new surroundings.
"One of the things we’ll be looking to protect Liam from is expectation," said Horner. "Of course, when Alex and Pierre were with the team, Max wasn’t a four-time world champion.
"He hadn’t won a world championship at that point. We have a very clear positioning in the team with where Max is at in his career and what we need from the second driver."
