Red Bull isn't ready to panic over Liam Lawson just yet, opting to give him one more race to settle in.

After a dismal debut weekend alongside Max Verstappen in Melbourne, the 23-year-old New Zealander hit rock bottom in Shanghai, qualifying last for the sprint.

Red Bull picked Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda for his mental toughness, a choice McLaren CEO Zak Brown this week called "strange".

"I don't listen to any of that too closely," Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko told Servus TV in Shanghai.

"These are the usual shenanigans."

He told Osterreich newspaper: "Yuki lacked consistency last year. Unfortunately, nothing has come together for Lawson yet.

"However, it was overlooked that he was one of the fastest in the dry in Melbourne. So let's not write him off just yet.

"Let's wait for the first three races, which are all on very different tracks, and then we'll get a more meaningful picture," Marko added.

After seeing Lawson qualify last for the sprint, Marko said: "Australia was his first race, and he doesn't know the track here in China either. That obviously makes things more difficult.

"He was doing well in his first run, then he couldn't get the tyres up to temperature for the second.

"We thought he had found his rhythm, but it seems to be very difficult. The car, as he says, is more difficult to drive than the Racing Bulls car, but now he needs to slowly find his rhythm."

Marko's also tracking Tsunoda. "Yuki has made another leap forward from last year to this year. I'm talking about Yuki as a person, and as a driver.

"He has also changed his management and so far he is performing really well."

Team boss Christian Horner remains in Lawson's corner for now.

"I think Liam's got a pretty sensible head on his shoulders," he said. "It's been a tough baptism for him.

"I've told him to ignore the naysayers, ignore social media, put your head down and you'll be fine. He just needs a bit of time.

"But Red Bull is a tough place," Horner added. "Max has been with the team for almost ten years.

"We have a policy of supporting young talent, that's why we are giving Liam this opportunity."

Known for his no-nonsense confidence, Lawson admitted to Bild newspaper: "Mental fitness is important in this sport. When you're on track and have self-doubt, it affects the way you drive the car.

"I know I need that mindset to perform at my best."

Asked if his resilience, not pace, won him the seat over Tsunoda, Lawson replied: "I hope they went for me because they believe in me."

Lawson climbed from last to 14th in the Shanghai sprint. "Thank God he made it to the finish," Marko said. body check tags ::