As TJ13 reported earlier, the blame game has begun inside the Red Bull Formula One team. When the Kiwi was given the Red Bull drive for 2025, Christian Horner explained the choice between Lawson and Tsunoda had been a tough one, with those involved making “a split decision.”
Dr. Marko has come out today stating to OE24 that the decision was in fact unanimous. “Yuki was too inconsistent,” said Marko. “That’s why we unanimously decided in favour of Lawson. But he wasn’t able to perform under the greater pressure, right from the first day in Australia.”
“Then he went into a downward spiral,” Marko continued. “It’s like a battered boxer, it’s very difficult to get out of it. As the late Queen Elizabeth said of Meghan Merkel accusations, “recollections may vary,” and it appears this already the case at Red Bull. The Milton Keynes based F1 team have come in for some scathing criticism from senior F1 writers, describing them as “cowardly,” “incompetent” and “deplorable,” in the way they’ve handled the Lawson saga.
Tsunoda at home in the Red Bull
It has been noted that there is no data on earth which Red Bull can have obtained in just two weekends, which point to the fact that Lawson is any different from the driver they opted to replace Sergio Perez with just three months ago.
Ahead of the news, Sky F1 presenter Karun Chandhok implored the Reed Bull management to support Lawson through his difficult time, suggesting a review would be timely come the start of the European season in Italy. Yet time was called on Liam and he now faces a period of recuperation from his F1 nightmare back with the Racing Bulls.
From a purely pragmatic point of view, if Tsunoda climbs into the RB21 and gets it near the top ten in Suzuka qualifying, Red Bull will in some way be justified in their decision to drop Lawson. Now in his fifth year of F1 racing, the experience of the Japanese driver should come to the fore.
It was Tsunoda who was given the 2024 post season test in the RB20, not Lawson, and his feedback was positive even having driven Verstappen’s car. “The Abu Dhabi post season test has been so fun today, it’s the first time in the past four years that I have driven a different car,” Tsunoda said. “You can physically feel why the RB20 has been fighting for a championship this year, it feels like a very different car to drive.
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Even so whilst Yuki notes the difference in performance between the RB20 and his VCARB machine, he believed the characteristics of the car in fact suited his driving technique.
“I feel like the car suits my driving style and I haven’t struggled much at all to adapt, even on the long runs I have been able to run consistently today and was able to feel the limitations of the car which if you don’t have confidence in the car you are unable to test,” concluded Yuki.
If Tsunoda can drive the RB21 with similar ease, Red Bull’s need to justify themselves further, will quickly fade from the headlines. Of course the process of selecting Lawson will be deemed catastrophic and for that Red Bull do have to take responsibility.
Now the news is out, the usual leaks from behind the scenes will begin. The first has been reported by Sky News in the UK which portrays Lawson as a broken man before being put out of his misery, something which fits nicely with Horners alleged claim for a “duty of care.”
Lawson: A broken man portrayal
Craig Slater of Sky has revealed that insiders from within Red Bull had described Lawson’s predicament having been asked to drive the RB21. “He had almost had an adverse reaction to this car, he didn’t gel with it at all. He was, and this is the word some insiders used, “frazzled” and he had completely lost confidence over these first two races.
“Qualifying 20th twice at the Chinese Grand Prix in a car which sits second in the championship. So, he’d almost lost his reference point with the car,” Slater concludes.
Former F1 Netflix narrator, Will Buxton mocked Red Bull’s decision when posting on X. “Red Bull’s talk of their “duty of care” is laughable,” he said. “You either believe in the driver you’ve signed and give them support or you don’t. They’ve played fast and loose with driver careers for decades but this is a new low. 2 races is insane. Good luck Yuki. You’re gonna need it.”
Way more shocking than the withering response of senior F1 journalists is that Max Verstappen has made his feelings clear on the matter and he does not agree with Dr. Marko or the team. Verstappen liked an Instagram post suggesting the axing of Lawson was “closer to bullying” and a “panic move” after the news earlier today.
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If Max is in disagreement with the team, then his father certainly will, but as yet there’s been nothing from the outspoken Jos Verstappen. Ex-Dutch F1 racer, Giedo van der Garde, gave his views on Red Bull’s alleged compulsive action, which was liked by Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly, dropped by Red Bull in 2019 together with max Verstappen’s thumbs up.
“I’m getting a bit tired of all the comments that F1 is the toughest sport in terms of performances and when you underdeliver you’ve gotta (sic) face the consequences… in my opinion this comes closer to bullying or a panic move than actual high athlete achievements.”
“They made a decision – fully aware – gave Liam two races only to crush his spirit. Don’t forget the dedication, hard work and success Liam has put in his career so far to achieve the level where he is now,” concluded the Dutch racer.
Christian Horner has tried to steady the Red Bull ship which appears presently to be lurching from one side to the other. Who was responsible for this farcical process beginning in December, will be next on the agenda for F1’s investigative writers.
Red Bull divisions emerge again
TJ13 has parsed the tea leaves and it appears currently that it was Marko who was keen on Lawson, given his claim the decision was “unanimous.” Yet as we reported Horner’s comments at the time of the Kiwi’s promotion, Horner claimed the decision was tight and in fact “split” the room.
“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,” said Horner in a statement today.
“We acknowledge there is a lot of work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki’s experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car. We welcome him to the Team and are looking forward to seeing him behind the wheel of the RB21.”
Job Done. For many putting Yuki alongside Max should have been done in the first place which would saved the blushes of a young hopeful driver looking to make his way in F1. Now the Japanese driver has his shot – and Red Bull are to receive $20m from Honda – Yuki can make a name for himself when it looked for all the world this could be his last year in Formula One.
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Red Bull blame game begins with Horner contradicting Marko
Red Bull Racing have finally confirmed they will be ditching Liam Lawson who will return to the Racing Bulls while Yuki Tsunoda gets his shot alongside Max Verstappen. With the worst kept secret in Formula One finally out, the focus will shift towards Red Bull’s decision making process, because having to ‘sack’ a driver after just the first two racing weekends of the year, is almost without precedent.
It in fact has happened before, back in 1985 when Ferrari dismissed Rene Arnoux after just two race weekends. So how did Red Bull get to this point? Who made the decision to promote Lawson and not Tsunoda?
Given his role as the head of the Red Bull junior driver programme it would be difficult to believe Dr. Helmut Marko was not heavily involved. Although given this is a Red Bull driver recruitment debate, Christian Horner too would have significant sway, even more so than if it was merely a decision of a Racing Bull’s driver alone… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
