Is Lawson out and Tsunoda in? 'None of us are happy'
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
Liam Lawson's results have not been up to Red Bull Racing's standards. With Max Verstappen currently in P2 in the Drivers' championship, 8 points adrift off leader Lando Norris, it is evident that the Dutchman is coping better with the RB21's idiosincracies than the New Zealander who is yet to score a single point, or even get past Q1 prompting rumours that he could be replaced by none other than former teammate Yuki Tsunoda, however, Lawson obviously disagrees.
Regarding his performance at the Chinese Grand Prix, Lawson was honest. "It's safe to say we’re not happy. None of us are happy," he said. During the race weekend in Shanghai, Tsunoda was asked whether or not he would be ready to take over from Lawson for the Japanese Grand Prix, to which Tsunoda said he would, "100%. The [Red Bull] car is faster."
'I raced Tsunoda for years and I beat him'
When confronted with his former teammate's words, Lawson replied: “He can honestly say whatever he wants, I raced him for years. I raced him in junior categories, and I beat him and I did in F1 as well, so he can say whatever he wants.”
Lawson and Tsunoda have been racing each other since 2019, with them facing each other across different categories and events such as the Toyota Racing Series, F3, the Macau Grand Prix, where the New Zealander often had the edge on the Japanese. It wouldn't be until 2023 when they faced off again, this time in Formula One, where Lawson amanged to adapt quickly to the series beating Tsunoda consistently in four out of the five races they ran against each other.
In 2024, having been signed as Daniel Ricciardo's permanent replacement ahead of the US Grand Prix in Austin, Lawson managed to stand his own against the best version of Tsunoda yet, despite losing to the Japanese driver in 4 out of the 6 races they had together, thus earning a promotion to Red Bull Racing, filling in for a struggling Perez.
Should Lawson be given more time to adjust to what is arguably the most difficult car of the current era, or should Tsunoda be given the chance to have a go at the RB21? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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