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Tsunoda has to think long about whether he is still friends with Lawson
Entering the 2025 season, Red Bull decided to graduate Liam Lawson to replace Sergio Perez over Yuki Tsunoda. Did that take a toll on the two driver's friendship? The Japanese driver opened up about how he feels in Melbourne to GPblog and others.
While Yuki Tsunoda was in the sister team Red Bull Racing for a longer period of time, the Austrians in the end opted for Lawson, coming out victorious from that duel. After a long silence, the Japanese driver was still searching for words as he began his answer when he was asked about Max Verstappen's next teammate.
"I wouldn't say [I’m] happy for him. Like, that's kind of a lie. He [has] done definitely what he should do and, he gave [his] best. He gave definitely a 100% performance, and, also, I gave 100%. It was in the end up to Red Bull how they're going to do it," he began.
Friendship between Lawson and Tsunoda
The pair were first teammates in the 2020 in the Toyota Racing Series, competing for M2 Competition, although they were Red Bull juniors before and therefore also spent time together. In that championship, Lawson finished second, two places ahead of Tsunoda.
However, after the latter managed to impress in F2, he got his chance earlier in Formula 1. Lawson's path to a full-time seat was different, being a reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls before the two battled it out to secure a promotion.
"We're still friends for sure, and we still chat each other, and I like to talk to him. And, yes, since 2020, before that, actually, we had a lot of time that we are teammates, driving in the same categories," Tsunoda explained about their friendship.
This article was written in collaboration with Tim Kraaij
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