Lucky Liam? Why Red Bull overlooked Tsunoda again

Red Bull’s decision to sack Sergio Perez caused little surprise or controversy. Their decision on his replacement might do so.

Liam Lawson is now faced with the toughest task in Formula 1. Being a teammate to Max Verstappen.

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Despite yet completing a full season, Red Bull felt that Lawson has impressed more in his 10 F1 grand prix than Tsunoda did in 4 seasons. That’s a damning verdict.

Tsunoda’s long-term future with the Red Bull "family" may be in doubt as they have once overlooked him now that they finally fired Perez. Red Bull will be swapping Honda for Ford next season, reducing the incentive for a Japanese driver to be on their program.

Lawson has impressed in his short F1 experience, showing that he had more speed than the drivers he replaced, Daniel Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries.

He and Tsunoda, though, were closely matched. Lawson is the least experienced driver to be promoted to the senior Red Bull Racing team.

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This might be a long-term move by Red Bull. Max Verstappen’s future is still in doubt. There are still tensions between his father and Christian Horner.

With Lawson having impressed quickly and being 2 years younger than Tsunoda, they might see more potential in him long-term, potentially even as a number 1 driver.

The battle for control of Red Bull might also be involved. Christian Horner has become more powerful in the team, and Horner previously hadn’t had much preference to promote Tsunoda when compared to Helmut Marko.

Perhaps Lawson’s driving style is more adjusted to Red Bull’s tricky-to-drive Max Verstappen car. Red Bull would have had large amounts of data on each driver’s style in simulator work as well as Tsunoda competing in a post-season test for Red Bull.

Whatever the reason, the pressure is now on Lawson. It will be his first full season in F1, and he’s going to be compared to Max Verstappen. Red Bull needs him to help Max’s fifth title challenge.

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