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Horner responds to Lawson exit rumours: 'F1 is a pressure business'
- Savannah Lenz
Shortly after Lawson failed to score points at the Chinese Grand Prix, a rumour emerged that Liam Lawson might have to swap places with Yuki Tsunoda for the next Grand Prix. Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner did not want to comment on these rumours.
The pressure continues to build for Lawson after another disappointing race for him at Red Bull Racing.
Horner backs Lawson in turbulent time
Horner said to Sky Sports, "Liam is a great little racer. He gets his elbows out, races hard but is just struggling at the moment, finding the limit with this car and getting the most out of the car. As a team we are looking to support him in the best way we can."
While he acknowledged his support for Lawson he said, "You always go for ultimate performance. Fast cars are never easy to drive but we know there's performance we need to find and we need both drivers up there if there's to be any chance of fighting for a Constructors' Championship, and at the very least the Drivers' Championship you need to have a second car in play. You can't do it one legged."
Horner also addressed Lawson's comment that he "didn't have much time. He said, "F1 is a pressure business. There's always time pressure. He knows that."
"Hopefully he will respond accordingly and we will see where we go."
Not much later, Autosport announced that it had learned that the Austrian racing stable was seriously considering a switch between Lawson and Tsunoda. This would happen even before the Japanese Grand Prix. Lawson would then move to Racing Bulls, and Tsunoda would be promoted to Red Bull Racing.
When asked about this, Horner did not want to say much on the topic of a driver switch. In the paddock, he said, “There's nothing specific that's been set up. Look, I think everything is purely speculative at the moment. I think Liam still has got potential. We're just not realising that at the moment."
While Horner does feel for Lawson the pressure that is on him, he also knows that Lawson needs to perform.
This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van Wijngaarden.
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