Liam Lawson has sensationally been axed after just two races, with Yuki Tsunoda promoted to the main team ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. Lawson will see out the season at Racing Bulls, returning to the team at which he started 11 grands prix prior to his promotion this season. The move was heavily rumoured during the Chinese Grand Prix, where Lawson qualified last for both the sprint and the feature race. He finished well outside the points for both and far behind teammate Max Verstappen, who pinched a podium in the short Saturday race. It compounded his difficult maiden in Australia, where he crashed out of the race after starting from pit lane. The Kiwi had been inducted to Red Bull Racing to replace Sergio Pérez, who struggled badly last year, scoring just 13 points in the final nine rounds. Lawson has now fallen on his sword just 13 days after first suiting up for the team for first practice in Melbourne. “It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races, and as a result we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch,” Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner […]
The manufacturer has clarified that Tsunoda is “fundamentally an independent driver” with sponsorship from Honda, and that it no longer needs to negotiate deals for him. If Yuki Tsunoda and his new management were hoping to receive a helping hand from Honda as Tsunoda builds a case to remain in Formula 1, the mood music coming from HQ isn’t promising. As a member of Honda’s driver programme, Tsunoda was fast-tracked through the European junior single-seater ladder, making his F1 debut in 2021 with the team then known as AlphaTauri. At the time it was politically expedient for Red Bull to take a Honda-supported driver since it was trying to keep the manufacturer engaged in F1 after an expensive spend to reach competitiveness – and much bad PR during its abortive comeback with McLaren. But now the landscape has shifted: Honda is realigning itself with Aston Martin, Red Bull is pivoting back towards building its own engines, albeit with Ford sponsorship, and Tsunoda is entering his fifth season in F1 having failed to convince Red Bull he is worth promoting to partner Max Verstappen in its senior team. And the message to him from Honda is: you’re on your own. “He [Tsunoda] needs to […]
