'Red Bull held summit meeting in Dubai over Lawson and Tsunoda swap'
Rumors
- Ewan Gale
GPBlog revealed on Tuesday that Red Bull Racing has decided to promote Yuki Tsunoda to become Max Verstappen's teammate, with Liam Lawson dropping back to Racing Bulls after just two races.
'Red Bull held summit meeting in Dubai'
Dutch news outlet De Telegraaf has reported that a summit was held in Dubai on Tuesday, where Chalerm Yoovidhya - the major Thai shareholder - lives, with the decision to swap the drivers made.
Speculation was rife over Lawson's future after a disastrous first two weekends of the season, where he crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix before qualifying last for both the sprint and main race in China. Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko apparently said a meeting would take place to discuss the New Zealander's future, with team principal Christian Horner not denying this.
With Tsunoda now expected to be confirmed as Verstappen's teammate, Honda is reported to be involved in the deal, with it suggesting that millions are being paid to help with the swap. This is an intriguing point given the Japanese manufacturer's switch to Aston Martin for next year.
GPBlog also reported that Verstappen is not in favour of the switch. The Dutchman had seemingly indicated to Red Bull management that Lawson should stay in place, though the team opted to do the switch anyway. What that says about the four-time world champion's future with the Milton Keynes-based team is yet to be seen.
This article was written in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut.
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