Liam Lawson has lost his Red Bull cockpit to Yuki Tsunoda: How he handles this setback will be crucial for the rest of his career
Bitter news for Liam Lawson: After just two outings in the Red Bull RB21, the New Zealander is being moved back to the Racing Bulls team. Yuki Tsunoda will instead line up alongside Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix. This is a particularly unpleasant turn of events for Lawson, after he had repeatedly spoken confidently about his rival Tsunoda in recent weeks.
“You can’t feel sorry for anyone in this sport,” Lawson said in an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph earlier this month. “If I look back at our careers, we were teammates in Formula 3 – and I beat him.”
“In Euroformula, we were teammates in New Zealand – and I beat him there. And in Formula 1 last year… to be honest, when I look at all the times he got promoted instead of me, no. He had his time. Now it’s my time,” said Lawson.
But in the premier class, a different picture emerges: in 2023, Lawson stood in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo and was beaten in all qualifying sessions by Tsunoda, even though he finished three races ahead of the Japanese driver. In 2024, the picture was similar: Tsunoda qualified ahead of Lawson in all six races, but Lawson managed a better result in four of those races.
Red Bull structures: A difficult starting position for Lawson
A decisive factor in this duel is the car: while the Racing Bulls team has a more driver-friendly vehicle, the Red Bull RB21 is known to be heavily tailored to Max Verstappen. In recent years, numerous drivers – from Pierre Gasly to Alex Albon to Sergio Perez – have had to deal with this problem.
The fact that Lawson is being demoted after only two races is causing discussion. Some argue that this is not enough time to get used to the difficult car. Others, however, see it as proof that Lawson has not lived up to expectations.
How should Lawson respond now?
Lawson is now at a crucial stage in his career. If he wants to recommend himself for a comeback in a top team, he cannot afford to make negative comments to the media in Suzuka. Instead, he must focus on his performance – both on the track and in the internal politics of Red Bull.
Lawson knows the system inside out: “You’re always being judged,” he said at the end of 2023. “Especially in the early years in F1, with the contracts we have and the way the teams judge us – there are performance clauses, we’re constantly under pressure. You’re never really safe.”
Lawson also had a tough time with Formula 1 fans, who didn’t take him to their hearts the way they did the quick-witted Tsunoda. The public perception is that he perhaps takes himself too seriously and was too ambitious to displace Tsunoda in the race for a Red Bull cockpit as quickly as possible.
But since when did Formula 1 become about politely waiting on the sidelines? If Lawson is going to win over fans, he needs to show respect, humility and a willingness to work hard through the tough times, starting in Japan.
