Tsunoda to Red Bull, Lawson to VCARB - already?
Red Bull hierarchy is well-known for being ruthless to its Formula 1 drivers, however, this time they might have crossed the border. Yuki Tsunoda replaces Liam Lawson in Red Bull Racing F1 Team just after 3 races for inappropriate results. Does it make any sense?
Liam Lawson, a 23-year-old New Zealander, moved to Red Bull after Sergio Peréz got kicked by the end of the 2024 season. After replacing Checo, both team principal Christian Horner and driver manager Helmut Marko expected Lawson to perform well after his previous successes. Unfortunately, Lawson had a horrendous start to the season. In tests in Bahrain, he has spun several times and he could not finish higher than on eighteenth place in the first three qualifying sessions. On the other hand, Max Verstappen proved his amazing ability of driving the Red Bull car and finished in TOP 5 every time in both qualifying and race. Lawson crashed the car on the first race in Melbourne and could not move forward in the Chinese Grand Prix after crossing the line in the fourteenth and thirteenth.
The worst thing is the performances of VCARB drivers, who are considered as a second Red Bull team. Both Yuki Tsunoda and rookie Isack Hadjar scored just three points overall so far, nonetheless, they secured a Q3 appearance in China already after finishing seventh and ninth. The main problem of VCARB team is the strategy. For instance, Tsunoda was screwed in both Australia and China. Although he had a great run, he could not score any points. Yet he showed the required potential and the amount of speed he is able to carry.
However, there are several factors why did this change happened. Liam should have been in Red Bull in the first place. He is not another Max Verstappen and it was visible since very first race in Formula 1 - a lot of inconsistency, uncertainty and collisions. Of course, he might have knocked Verstappen out of Q2 in Singapore 2023, nonetheless, that is inappropriate together with other results. And even in the second half of 2024 season, where Lawson and Tsunoda were teammates, Tsunoda managed to collect more points and better average qualifying position. That is another reason why was the "Lawson to Red Bull" an incomprehensible move - Tsunoda in in Formula 1 since 2021 and had to develop his abilities by his own. Recently, he became something like a measure for Helmut Marko to decide who has the required speed - I am looking at this fact positively, because just this act shows Yuki's consistency.
Yuki Tsunoda will make his debut at his home, on the circuit of Suzuka in Japan. We will see consequences after few Grand Prix. Nevertheless, Verstappen recently liked an Instagram post from one of the Dutch journalists that was concerned about Lawson's replacement and the fact that they gave him just 2 races and a winter break to adapt. The real question is - isn't Max concerned about Yuki at least a little bit?
Jakub Ondruš
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_Tsunoda</p>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liam_Lawson<br>