Red Bull should have listened to what Racing Bulls insiders said before picking Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull snubbed Yuki Tsunoda when they chose Liam Lawson to succeed Sergio Perez. Around three months later, they may already be regretting their decision.

Lawson has made a dreadful start to his Red Bull career. He qualified last twice at the Chinese Grand Prix (a Sprint weekend), having also suffered a Q1 exit on debut in Melbourne.

After crashing out in Albert Park, he posted a P14 and a P12 in the Shanghai races. Remarkably, Red Bull are already set to axe Lawson for the Japanese Grand Prix, according to recent reports.

Tsunoda could finally get his chance. Perhaps he can break the cycle of despair next to Max Verstappen, having grown in stature at the de facto junior team.

But Karun Chandhok feared Lawson could ‘burn out’ at Red Bull, and while Pierre Gasly responded well to his 2019 demotion, there’s no guarantee of a repeat this time. What’s more, it would be a huge source of embarrassment for Christian Horner and co. to make a u-turn before the end of March.

Racing Bulls figures thought Yuki Tsunoda was a better pick than Liam Lawson

Lawson and Tsunoda raced alongside one another 11 times in total, including the final six races of last season. As the table below shows, Tsunoda was the quicker driver in the VCARB01.

He scored more points and whitewashed the qualifying battle. But Red Bull had lingering doubts over his attitude and consistency, and were impressed that Lawson was fairly close to the Japanese driver despite the mileage differential.

Now, however, a report from F1-Insider has revealed that Racing Bulls ‘insiders’ thought Tsunoda was ‘the better choice’ last year. Horner and Helmut Marko overlooked that feedback, even though RB had worked with the duo much more closely.

They would have had access to both drivers’ data to inform their decision, but their picture was incomplete. They may now wish they had listened, having slipped 42 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ standings already.

Are Red Bull looking at another driver to replace Liam Lawson instead?

Lawson’s woes could transform his former teammate’s career. Tsunoda is out of contract at the end of the season, creating doubt over his future in the sport.

Red Bull will split with Honda before 2026, and it was Tsunoda’s ties to the Japanese manufacturer that helped him land the seat in the first place. On that basis, a renewal looked unlikely, and there were few obvious openings elsewhere.

Indeed, Robert Doornbos fears Tsunoda’s career is ‘over’ if Red Bull don’t promote him. Honda will link up with Aston Martin but they’ve been loosening their connection to the 24-year-old.

Horner and Marko could yet decide to give Lawson more time, or they could adopt a drastic plan-c. There are murmurs that Red Bull have revived interest in Franco Colapinto, though that deal may be too complex given that Williams have loaned him to Alpine.