Ted Kravitz says Liam Lawson has proven that Yuki Tsunoda isn’t the problem at Red Bull

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Liam Lawson was one of the stars of qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Lawson will line up sixth, the highest-ranking driver outside the top-four teams.

Only two-tenths off fourth, Lawson felt there was even more pace in the car. But he outpaced Red Bull-bound teammate Isack Hadjar (P8) for just the sixth time in their 20 races together.

Lawson’s result feels even more significant in the context of another miserable outing for Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda was eliminated in Q1 for the seventh time this season and will share the back row with Lewis Hamilton.

Given Hadjar’s expected Red Bull promotion, Lawson is thought to be battling Tsunoda for a spot at Racing Bulls next to promising youngster Arvid Lindblad.

Liam Lawson’s form at Racing Bulls raises questions about Red Bull

Coming into the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, Lawson was three places and eight points ahead of Tsunoda despite driving what’s statistically a slower car.

There are those in the paddock, however, who believe that the Racing Bulls car is faster than the Red Bull in the hands of the average driver due to its greater stability.

Speaking on his ‘Notebook’, Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz said Lawson’s resurgence since returning to the sister team shows that Red Bull must accept significant blame for the woes of their second drivers.

• READ MORE: Jenson Button fears Red Bull will ‘never’ win constructors’ title again after what he’s seen from Yuki Tsunoda

“Yuki Tsunoda again, poor showing from him,” he said. “It’s an open question really – why is it that Red Bull can’t engineer Yuki’s car to his liking to get anywhere near Max Verstappen?

“We know that it’s not really the driver, because Liam has shown in the Racing Bulls that he hasn’t lost his pace. Heaven knows, if you put Yuki back in the Racing Bulls, I think he’d still be in the points.

“But this terrible run of form of Yuki Tsunoda… it’s not all his fault. It must be the car, as well as Max’s brilliance.”

Laurent Mekies apologises to Yuki Tsunoda after Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying

As if to back up Kravitz’s point, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies apologised to Tsunoda after the session. He revealed that the team had miscalculated his tyre pressures, contributing to a total lack of grip.

“It’s on us, we made quite a big mistake with his tyre pressures and he was out there with a setting that has basically given him no chance to be competitive,” Mekies said.

“These sort of things obviously should not happen, but they happen, and the best we can do is learn from them, work very hard and come back stronger.

“He was in a good rhythm all weekend and it’s really painful to take this chance away from him.”

Mekies wants to give Tsunoda a chance to save himself, having previously spoken of his strong bond with the Japanese driver. He’s said to have reservations about fast-tracking the development of young drivers.

If Tsunoda doesn’t get a new contract, then he will drop off the F1 grid altogether. Franco Colapinto’s Alpine extension earlier this month removed the last remaining vacancy elsewhere.