Christijan Albers ‘doesn’t understand’ why ‘fantastic’ 22-y/o is not an F1 driver

Follow us on Google Discover

Christijan Albers cannot fathom why Red Bull will not give Liam Lawson a real chance in Formula 1 with the Visa Cash App RB team given his ‘fantastic’ cameo during 2023.

The 22-year-old earned a surprise debut in the pinnacle of motorsport last year when Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand at the Dutch GP. But despite Lawson impressing over his five Grand Prix for the F1 team then named AlphaTauri, the Kiwi has had to accept a reserve role again.

Lawson is simply spending his 2024 campaign on the sidelines in case Red Bull or Visa Cash App RB need a stand-in driver. Red Bull felt a line-up of Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda offered the best driver pairing in Faenza as the Milton Keynes natives rebranded their junior squad.

Red Bull snubbed Liam Lawson to place Daniel Ricciardo at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team

But Red Bull’s decision to place Ricciardo over Lawson as Tsunoda’s teammate at RB has not paid off yet. The 34-year-old is losing the head-to-head battle with the 23-year-old as they both fight for their futures. Ricciardo and Tsunoda are only on single-year contracts with RB.

Tsunoda beat Ricciardo 4-3 for Grand Prix results and in qualifying through their seven races as teammates in 2023. The Japanese gem also outscored the Australian 15 points to six and scored in more races (4-1). Tsunoda is even now outscoring Ricciardo with RB 6-0 in 2024.

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Ricciardo finished the Bahrain GP in P13, the Saudi Arabian GP in P16 and the Australian GP in P12. While Tsunoda finished in P14 in Sakhir due to team orders, P15 in Jeddah and P7 in Melbourne. So, Albers cannot understand why Lawson is not driving with Visa Cash App RB.

Christijan Albers cannot fathom why Liam Lawson is not on the Formula 1 grid in 2024

Former Minardi, Midland and Spyker driver Albers, who also claims Ricciardo ‘does not have it anymore’, believes Lawson showed during his brief stint as Tsunoda’s teammate that Red Bull should have given the New Zealander a full-time seat at Visa Cash App RB during 2024.

“I don’t understand what the fear is about this choice,” Albers told De Telegraaf’s Formula 1 podcast. “I just don’t understand it. Let’s be honest, Lawson beat Yuki Tsunoda in those few races. And Tsunoda has consistently been stronger than Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo.

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

“You have Lawson – who performed fantastically – he just needs to be given a chance and he doesn’t get one? The whole purpose of the team is to train and promote young talent.”

Lawson lost 4-1 in his qualifying head-to-head against Tsunoda through their five rounds as teammates in 2023. But the Red Bull driver academy talent out-finished the Honda-backed racer 4-1 and outscored him 2-0. Lawson registered his points with P9 in the Singapore GP.

Tsunoda also finished the Dutch GP in P15 as Lawson took P13 on his Formula 1 debut after a late call-up to replace Ricciardo. The Japanese talent also retired in Singapore after Sergio Perez crashed into him. Lawson also held Tsunoda off at the Japanese GP to take P11 to P12.