Jos Verstappen makes first comments after Lawson's early exit from Red Bull
Red Bull Contentpool
F1 News
Jos Verstappen has made his first comments after Liam Lawson's early departure and demotion from Red Bull Racing, replaced by Yuki Tsunoda.
After two very challenging Grands Prix to start his Red Bull career, Lawson will now move back to Racing Bulls, with team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko making the ruthless and criticised call to remove the New Zealander after only 13 Grands Prix in his F1 career.
There was widespread criticism of Red Bull's decision, with both Max and Jos Verstappen liking a post by former F1 driver and now pundit Giedo van der Garde on the day of the announcement, who was highly critical of the Austrian team's approach, arguig that it is more akin to "bullying or a panic reaction than a top-level performance culture". His comment not only got a like from the Verstappens but also from other drivers, including Oscar Piastri, Pierre Gasly and Nico Hulkenberg.
Jos Verstappen reacts to Lawson's Red Bull exit
"Will Buxton, best known for F1TV and the Netflix series Drive to Survive, was also critical of Red Bull's approach. The comment by team boss Christian Horner, who claimed to have a "duty of care" for Lawson, did not go down well with the Briton. "What Red Bull says about its 'duty of care' is just laughable. Either you believe in the driver you have recruited and support him, or you don't. They have been playing recklessly with drivers' careers for decades, but this is really a new low. Two races is completely insane. Good luck, Yuki. You're going to need it," was the commentator's verdict.
However, although Jos Verstappen did like Van der Garde's Instagram post criticising Red Bull, the first comment from the Dutchman has been very neutral, saying, "I really hope you go and do a fantastic job. He deserves to be in F1."
That comment was written under the Instagram post in which Racing Bulls announced Lawson's return. GPblog was previously able to reveal that Max Verstappen wanted to keep Lawson on as a teammate and that he did not like a switch at all.
Source: Instagram
This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!