Last Updated on January 19 2025, 1:38 pm

As the long winter months drag on and on, there is frenzied activity  back at the teams’ HQ’s as the 2025 Formula One racing prototypes are readied for testing in the desert of the middle east. This time last year, the teams for the first time in F1 history had retained their lineups from the final race of the previous season but for 2025 its all change.

Six new full time drivers will take to the grid in Melbourne for the first time with Liam Lawson given the toughest task of all in becoming Max Verstappen’s team mate. Last year two drivers were sacked mid-season with Daniel Ricciardo finishing his F1 career in less than style and Logan Sargeant being unceremoniously dumped by James Vowles on the eve of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Of the six new drivers, Liam Lawson has the most experience having completed eleven Grand Prix for V-CARB in 2023/24. There was a certain amount of surprise from senior paddock observers when the Red Bull post season enclave in Milton Keynes sent up the white smoke. Liam Lawson not Yuki Tsunoda was the preferred option to challenge Verstappen and the New Zealander has already been publicly tasked with his performance targets.

 

 

 

Lawson set tough targets

On the announcement of Lawson as Perez’s replacement, Dr. Helmut Marko was clear. “He should be within three-tenths of Max in both qualifying and in the race,” he told RTL. “That should be enough to get points for the Constructors’ Championship,” he adds. “He should also steadily increase his performance, if possible.”

Excluding sessions not representative due to rain, Sergio Perez who failed to score in one third of the 2024 Grand Prix averaged a qualifying time 0.45 seconds slower than Verstappen across the year. Meanwhile Lawson was beaten 6-0 in qualifying by Tsunoda when he replaced Ricciardo following the Singapore Grand Prix, which sets out the size of the task ahead.

Tsunoda failed to make the grade as Marko explained for a number of reasons. “In terms of speed, Tsunoda is definitely the faster of the two at the moment,” the 81 year old Austrian told Bild. “He lacks the necessary consistency and continues to make mistakes.”

The Japanese driver has proven to be a volatile character and at last season’s opener in Bahrain he reacted with aggression when told to allow his team mate Daniel Ricciardo through who was on a different tyre strategy. Following the chequered flag Tsunoda appeared to show his displeasure by cutting across Ricciardo’s car almost causing collision.

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Horner says ‘5 years a junior’ – pointless

Yuki was fined €40,000 later in the year for using offensive language over team radio when he was delayed by other drivers going slowly in the pit lane. Marko admitted Red Bull were concerned Tsunoda “slows down and loses his composure” when he gets rattled. “His outbursts of anger have improved considerably but remain an issue,” said Marko. “He loses control.”

Dr. Marko went on to explain the Red Bull management were concerned that Tsunoda in the pressure cooker that is being Max’s team mate would crack under pressure. “We believe it would cause significant emotional challenges for Tsunoda if he realised 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,” he said.

Red Bull viewed Lawson as “the mentally strongest of our juniors,” despite his limited experience. “He has the mental fortitude to race alongside Verstappen and accept that he won’t be able to challenge the Dutchman,” concluded the RBR consultant.

Team boss Christian Horner appeared to suggest that Yule’s time was limited with the V-CARB outfit as he enters his fifth year with the team. “We’re acutely aware that if we’re not able to provide an opportunity for Yuki in all honesty this year, does it make sense?” said the Red Bull boss when asked if the Japanese might follow Honda to Aston Martin in 2026.

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Tsunoda clings on says Villeneuve

“You can’t have a driver in the support team for five years,” he added. “You can’t always be the bridesmaid. You’ve either got to let them go at that point or look at something different.”

Tsunoda is a Honda protege and the prevailing opinion is the Japanese manufacturer may require Aston Martin to field him as a driver when they begin supplying power units to the Silverstone based team. Yet based on Horner’s ‘5 year comment’, it could be Yuki will be let go unless he performs well against new team mate Isack Hadjar.

Now 1997 F1 champion, Jacques Villeneuve says he believes Tsunoda will be the first to be sacked once the 2025 season is under way. Further, the Canadian believes there will been takers for his services before at least the start of 2026. “Tsunoda will be the first driver to leave the grid,” Villeneuve told the Action Network. 

“He’s only there because of Honda. At some point this will stop. And the writing is quite clear that this is his last season with the Red Bull family anyway. And I don’t see any team wanting him unless there’s a big Honda push.”

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Lindblad next big thing for RBR

Tsunoda came into F1 with a reputation for being very quick, but making simple driver errors. Now four years down the track it seems his reputation has changed little and the writing is on the wall. Next in line for the Red Bull sister team would be Tsunoda’s countryman Ayumu Iwassa who is currently lined up for a season in Japanese Super Formula, which was the route taken by Liam Lawson.

Iwassa won the French F4 championship back in 2020, yet since then has failed to top the table in either the FIA F3 championship or in Formula 2. Behind Iwassa the candidates for F1 look to be thin on the ground bar one exception. Arvid Lindblad is regarded by talent seeker Dr. Marko as not the ‘next Max Verstappen.’

“The junior team prospect [sic] is to find new talents. And we are not looking for a new Max. We’re looking for a new champion,” Marko told assembled media in Abu Dhabi. “I think the next one which looks really promising is Arvid Lindblad.” The 17 year old prospect is so highly thought of that Red Bull enquired last year of the FIA whether they would make an exception to the over eighteen only rule. The FIA indicated it would be taken on a case by case basis.

Lindblad turns eighteen this August, which reveals Red Bull’s F1 intentions for the may be sooner rather than later for the British-Swedish born driver.

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Marko underwhelmed by rookie driver performance

Franco Colapinto is genuinely the talk of Argentina. Girls who never watched F1 wear shirts with his name emblazoned across the back and the rising Formula One star has already bagged a host of wealthy Latin American backers to fund his racing ambitions.

The leap to fame for Franco was created when Williams boss James Vowles said ‘no more’ to the team’s recent tradition of employing North American drivers with financial support but little talent. Logan Sargeant was put out of his misery one race after the F1 summer break resumption as Colapinto stopped into the Williams car for the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.

Whilst in qualifying Franco was less than impressive as he dipped his wheel into the gravel at the second Lesmo turn ruing his chance of a decent time on his second push lap in Q1. Come Sunday things were set to change. Colapinto immediately showed his class when starting down in P18 when he defied the difficulty of tyre management often something which troubles rookie F1 starters…. READ MORE