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Coulthard sees 'Verstappen challenge' for Lawson a 'big opportunity'
- Savannah Lenz
Liam Lawson has secured the Red Bull Racing seat against his direct competitor, Yuki Tsunoda. However, he still has a lot to learn as he has less experience than the Racing Bulls driver. On the Formula for Success podcast, David Coulthard addressed the decision that was made the team he previously drove for.
Coulthard on choosing Lawson
Before the decision was made, Tsunoda said he did not know what else he could do for Red Bull to consider him. When the time came, they ended up choosing his teammate, Lawson, over him for the promotion.
About the Austrians choosing Lawson, Coulthard said: "It is a big opportunity for Liam Lawson and a big pressure. But as I have said on the show before, pressure is when you feel you are not in control. Right now, Liam will be pretty confident. He had a good debut alongside Yuki. Whether he brings that same confidence to match Max or not remains to be seen, but the steering wheel is very much in his hands."
When talking about Tsunoda saying at Racing Bulls, Coulthard explained that the Japanaese driver was "understandably disappointed; he had a very strong season."
"He wasn't given the chance at Red Bull. But I think at Red Bull, they asked the question do they think he is a future world champion? Do they think he is a Max-beater? And again, this isn't opinions, this is facts. They have all the data on him, and on one hand, you could say that if Yuki had better options outside Racing Bulls, he would have taken it," the former F1 driver concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut.
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