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Horner praises Tsunoda: The prelude to a swap with Lawson at Red Bull?
It is no secret that Christian Horner was never a big fan of Yuki Tsunoda. It was reportedly Red Bull Racing's team boss who made the ultimate decision to make Liam Lawson Max Verstappen's teammate - and thus not promote the Japanese driver. Perhaps Tsunoda will still get the chance soon, though. In any case, with Lawson's seat reportedly under scrutiny, Horner is now very positive about the Racing Bulls driver's performance.
Tsunoda managed to bag three points in two race weekends, all during the sprint race in China. At the Australian and Chinese Grand Prix, the Japanese driver did not have luck on his side each time, losing points that seemed almost certain. After the Grand Prix on Sunday, Horner expressed his admiration for Tsunoda's performance as well as that of his teammate, Isack Hadjar.
"Yeah, I think Yuki and particularly Isack, I would say, as a rookie, has been very strong. So, you know, Yuki is a very experienced, or an experienced driver now, doing a great job. He was unlucky with, from what I can see from the race plots, with strategy [in Melbourne] and a front wing issue today. But, again last weekend he was doing a good job," Horner said.
Horner already sees the headlines ahead
Yet vocal about Tsunoda being the top candidate to replace Lawson, should the New Zealander have to leave, Horner was not. "I'm not even going to comment on a change, because that would be your first headline. As I say, we're two races into this championship. We have quite a bit of information, we're going to go in and have a good look at it and work with Liam and do the best that we can for him," finished Horner.
This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen.