'Not in a hundred years would Lawson be faster than Tsunoda'

Under Franz Tost, Liam Lawson made his debut in Formula 1 at AlphaTauri, but the Austrian doesn't seem to have a high opinion of him. The former team boss fully understands why the New Zealander was demoted from Red Bull Racing to Racing Bulls after just two Grands Prix.

In the paddock, there are many people who thought Lawson's demotion after such a short time was too early. Especially because the youngster was racing on circuits he was not familiar with, starting at a disadvantage. He is familiar with Suzuka, but the trigger was pulled before Japan.

"Knowing a circuit is one thing. Being fast is another. The decision to put Yuki in the car now was absolutely right, because Liam is simply too slow," is Tost's harsh conclusion on the Austrian broadcaster ORF.

'Lawson is not faster than Yuki in a hundred years'

According to the now retired Tost, Tsunoda is much faster than Lawson. "You can give Lawson a hundred years and he still won't be as fast as Yuki. And Yuki is also more experienced, so what's the issue? It's a very simple decision."

Tost is also critical of Red Bull for initially promoting Lawson and overlooking Tsunoda. "I would have gone for Yuki from the beginning. I made that clear last fall. Yuki has incredible natural speed – I've been saying that for years."

Tost admits that Tsunoda had trouble controlling his emotions in the past. The Austrian suspects that this played a part in not making him the successor to Sergio Perez. But in terms of pure speed, Tost rates him among the best F1 drivers.

"If he can now convert that into consistency, good race performances, and somewhat keep his emotions in check, then it will be a very good season – for Red Bull Racing and for Yuki," Tost said.