Max Verstappen stands by reaction to Liam Lawson’s Red Bull F1 axe: ‘I liked the comment’

Verstappen liked a social media post criticising Red Bull’s decision to drop Lawson after just two races

Max Verstappen has admitted his “like” of a social media post criticising Red Bull’s decision to drop Liam Lawson was “not a mistake”, ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Lawson was dropped after a torrid first two races of the season in Australia and China, with Yuki Tsunoda picked to replace him. Lawson drops back down to the junior team, Racing Bulls, while Tsunoda makes his Red Bull debut at his home race in Suzuka this weekend.

Yet Verstappen raised eyebrows last week when he liked an Instagram post by ex-F1 driver Giedo van der Garde, which stated Red Bull’s decision to drop Lawson was “closer to bullying or a panic move.”

Verstappen, who is eyeing a fifth straight world championship this year, refused to elaborate further on his opinion on the early-season driver swap – other than to confirm that his Instagram like was “not a mistake.”

“I liked the comment, the text, so I guess that speaks for itself, right?” Verstappen said, in Suzuka.

“It was not a mistake. My reaction was shared with the team but in general, about not only the swap, but about everything.

“We discussed that already during last weekend and back at the factory.

Max Verstappen has a new teammate at Red Bull this weekend in Japan (Getty Images)

"Everything has been shared with the team, how I think about everything. Sometimes it's not necessary to always share everything in public. I think it's better.

"I have discussed everything with the team so the team knows how I think about everything and I think that's enough to be honest."

"I've discussed everything with the team, I've spoken to Liam and that's all I can say about it."

Verstappen trails championship leader Lando Norris by eight points heading into race three in Japan, a race he has won on the last three occasions.