Liam Lawson admitted after qualifying that he offered an apology to Max Verstappen for their incident in Mexico practice.

Both Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen were handed a one-place grid penalty after they collided in FP2 in Mexico City.

Verstappen accused Lawson of not being “smart” because the incident comes at a time where the New Zealander is fighting for his Racing Bulls seat against Nikola Tsolov.

After qualifying in Mexico, Lawson admitted that he went out of his way to issue an apology to Verstappen.

Liam Lawson’s apology to Max Verstappen for Mexico collision

For the fifth time this season, Lawson qualified in P8 in Mexico, although his grid penalty will drop him below teammate Arvid Lindblad for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

In his post-qualifying comments, Lawson hardly celebrated his incredible feat as he instead used the time to make it clear that he apologised to Verstappen.

“It’s not ideal. I went to see Max this morning to apologise because what happened doesn’t need to happen and I don’t want it to happen in future,” Lawson told Sky Sports.

“Right now, it’s not the best time. It has been a tricky day so it is good to get the most out of the car.”

That second line says it all. Lawson is aware that he is fighting for his seat, and so the optics of being in a dispute with Red Bull’s lead driver is not currently good for his career.

But Lawson feeling forced to apologise also exposes the problem with the politics inside Red Bull’s network in Formula 1.

The stewards ruled that both Verstappen and Lawson were at fault, and Red Bull chiefs blamed both drivers, too.

Yet it is Lawson who had to tuck his tail between his legs and apologise. Why? Because his seat is unfairly at risk despite scoring more than twice as many points as Lindblad this season.

Disagreeing with another driver from an entirely different team shouldn’t impact Lawson’s racing seat in 2027, yet that appears to be the only reason why he has had to swallow his pride and accept blame.

Liam Lawson needs to leave Racing Bulls

From his time in the Red Bull seat, Lawson knows that Verstappen is given complete priority when it comes to designing the car as well as on-track decisions.

In Miami, Lawson was ordered to let Verstappen pass despite not even driving on the same team. The reality is that the Red Bull driver pipeline is not designed in a way that will ever benefit Lawson.

Lawson is never going to be allowed to challenge Verstappen while he remains in the Red Bull family.

The only real solution then, is to leave.

Recently, Karun Chandhok suggested that Cadillac should sign Lawson, and the 24-year-old has proven this season that he has the leadership and raw speed to lead a Formula 1 team.

Lawson deserves to be at a team where he is valued, prioritised, and part of a long-term project. Even if he keeps his Racing Bulls seat for 2027, it is only a matter of time before they will want to free up space to test another of their countless junior talents.