Why did Red Bull choose Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda?

A new teammate for Max Verstappen. Paired with Sergio Perez since 2021, the Dutch driver will welcome Liam Lawson in 2025. The New Zealander, former Formula 2 driver with Carlin, is thus receiving a promotion after completing the last six Grand Prix of the season with Racing Bulls, replacing Daniel Ricciardo. In this game of musical chairs, a loser is easily identifiable: Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda still excluded from Red Bull

The Japanese driver, racing for Racing Bulls since 2021 (formerly AlphaTauri), will compete in his fifth consecutive season with the Faenza team. Yet, the Japanese driver has made significant progress in 2024. Often criticized for his numerous crashes and aggressive radio communications, Yuki Tsunoda has shown a certain calm this season, choosing to focus on his speed. With nine finishes in the points and a total of 30 points, the Japanese driver has fully contributed to Racing Bulls’ successful season, which they finish in eighth place with 46 points (having also finished eighth in 2023 but with only 25 points). Despite this, he was not chosen by Red Bull for 2025. Helmut Marko, the consultant within the Milton Keynes structure, discussed the reasons for choosing Lawson over Tsunoda.

« In terms of speed, Tsunoda is definitely the faster of the two at the moment, but he lacks the necessary consistency and continues to make mistakes », the Austrian admitted. Red Bull blames the Japanese driver for his many mood swings, which could affect the morale of the Austrian team. A trait that has followed him again this season.

A composure often criticized

From the opening round, the Japanese driver first took to the radio to express his confusion after the team asked him to let his teammate Daniel Ricciardo pass. After the race, he did not hide his frustration and overtook the Australian again at turn 8 during the cooldown lap. However, he locked his wheels, went straight on, and almost made contact with his teammate upon returning to the track. At the Austrian Grand Prix, he was fined $40,000 for using offensive language on the radio during qualifying.

Behaviors that have concerned Red Bull despite better performances this season. His fits of anger have improved considerably but remain a problem. He loses control, Helmut Marko said. The Austrian also stated that Red Bull feared Tsunoda’s reaction to the challenge of facing Verstappen. We believe it would pose significant emotional challenges for Tsunoda if he realized, alongside Max, that he couldn’t beat him, or perhaps even get close to him, and that things weren’t going as he had imagined.

Conversely, the Austrian team considers Liam Lawson mentally better, a quality he will need to maintain when he faces the four-time world champion next season. « He has the mental strength necessary to race alongside Verstappen and accept that he will not be able to challenge the Dutchman. »

For Tsunoda, a future in F1 outside the Red Bull camp?

In 2025, Red Bull will therefore change its two driver line-ups. While Lawson will certainly be closely watched, the same will apply to Tsunoda. The Japanese driver will have Frenchman Isack Hadjar as his teammate. The Frenchman, who finished second in this year’s F2 championship, wants to fully capitalize on his opportunity and already seems to be on pace with the Japanese driver if the times set by both drivers during the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi are to be believed.

Tsunoda’s place is therefore in danger within Red Bull. A position that the Japanese driver seems to accept more and more. For him, it might be time to change sides at the risk of seeing all the doors of other teams closing in front of him.