Liam Lawson preferred over Yuki Tsunoda as replacement for Sergio Perez (Reuters)
After Mexican driver Sergio Perez and Red Bull parted ways, the team waited almost a day to reveal that it would be Liam Lawson who would take the empty Red Bull seat. The battle for the second Red Bull seat was always going to be between the two driver’s of Visa Cash App RB, Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, but it was the New Zealander that Red Bull preferred.
It was announced on Thursday that Lawson would be Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull and was said that the decision to pick Lawson over Yuki was a very close call. Liam Lawson has only 11 races to his name, making his debut in 2023 after replacing Daniel Ricciardo, who broke his finger in Zandvoort.
“It was very, very tight between the two of them,” Horner told ESPN. “I mean, Yuki is a very fast driver. He’s got three or four seasons of experience now. He did a very good job in the tyre test for us in Abu Dhabi where the engineers were impressed with how he performed.”
“With Liam, when you look and go into the analytics of his race, pace was slightly better in the races that he did. His qualifying pace was very tight with Yuki, and you’ve got to assume that the potential with Liam having only done 11 grand prix, is he’s only going to get better and stronger. He’s shown real mental resilience and toughness.”
Tsunoda made his debut in 2021 for then Alpha Tauri, still Red Bull’s sister team, and has been with them ever since eyeing the Red Bull seat. While the talks around the paddock were that if Perez were to leave Red Bull it would be Lawson’s seat, the assumptions shifted as Yuki Tsunoda had been asked to do the post-season testing for Red Bull after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Red Bull believe that Liam Lawson has immense potential as his performances in just 11 races rival that of Tsunoda’s best year in F1. Lawson showed immense grit in the wheel-to-wheel battles he has been part of, even going up against Sergio Perez, the driver he is replacing, on a couple of occasions.
While he is a driver of immense confidence and courage, he finds himself in a spot many great drivers have. After Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018, Red Bull constantly changed their second driver with Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez. They were all left in the shadow of Verstappen, and their poor performances didn’t hold Red Bull back in immediately looking for a replacement. Horner did throw light upon how Yuki would still be on stand-by should be required.
“The engineers have enjoyed working with him through the running that he’s done this year. He’s got a good work ethic as well. So it is great to have Yuki still involved with the Racing Bull scene next year. And of course he’s on standby should he ever be required,” Horner said.
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