Last Updated on April 1 2025, 2:03 pm
Liam Lawson will return to the Racing Bull team this weekend after a shocker of a debut for Red Bull racing at the first two rounds of the 2025 season. A driver error in Melbourne saw him crash out into the barriers and the New Zealand border driver was plumb last in both qualifying sessions in Shanghai.
Yuki Tsunoda who three months ago was considered not mentally strong enough to race alongside Max Verstappen has had a sudden rehabilitation it seems and will now partner the world champion at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix.
The response from the F1 world of Red Bull’s sudden cull of Lawson has been varied, with some veteran F1 writers describing the team’s actions as “cowardly,” “incompetent” and “deplorable”. Others believe Red Bull merely made the wrong decision and that Liam will benefit from an extended run in the Racing Bulls team.
Marko accused of ‘mental abuse’
With the modernity issue of mental health never far from the explanation why sporting superstars appear to break down suddenly, even Isack Hadjar’s state of mind came under scrutiny in Melbourne. On his F1 debut the Racing Bulls driver crashed on the way to the grid and was seen in floods of tears as he returned to the paddock.
The famously old school, Dr. Helmut Marko, described Hadjar’s crying as “embarrassing” only to be lambasted in the media for his lack of consideration of the junior driver’s state of mental health. Yet the French-Algerian racer later admitted himself that Dr. Marko’s description was correct.
Now with Lawson being so brutally demoted, becoming the first Red Bull Racing driver to be sacked after just two weekends, the state of mind of the New Zealander has been questioned by non-other than his closest partner, Tony Quinn. He has been associated with Lawson for most of his junior racing career with Liam acting as an ambassador for the Tony Quinn Foundation.
Quinn has now spoken out for the first time since his charge was demoted to the Racing Bulls team. He explains the move should be good for Lawson claiming he would be “near suicidal” were he to remain at Red Bull Racing.
Lawson sponsor suggests he was “suicidal” at RBR
“I actually think it’ll be good for him,” Quinn tells Aussie publication Speedcafe. “Carrying on for another event, and if it didn’t work out well, it would be worse for him I think – I think he’d be fucking near suicidal, to be quite honest.”
Lawson’s disastrous results in qualifying were masked only slightly by his P12 finish in the Chinese grand Prix but only after three drivers ahead of him were disqualified. Quinn is surprised at his protege’s troubles given the pre-season preparations appeared to have been productive.
“It’s been a lot harder than I think he thought it would be,” Quinn added.“I think that’s a bit of a surprise because all the testing that he’s done and the simulator stuff was pointing in a very positive direction.
“The feel was that, if he didn’t improve by Japan – because in theory Japan should be good – that he would be replaced with Tsunoda. That was the early talk, and that’s obviously what’s happened. But it’s happened an event before we thought.”
FIA hints: ‘Frankenstein’ era looms
Tsunoda claims RB21 not “particularly difficult”
Lawson had never raced in Melbourne nor China before his baptism of fire as Verstappen’s team mate, but his season spent racing in Japan would suggest he knows Suzuka like the back of his hand.
The ‘suicidal’ comment will no doubt stir up voices of concern about the mental state of such young drivers being treated this way, yet F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport’s technology and there are just 20 seats in the world to be filled. Mental toughness is required by any top level sportsperson and the knocks come hard when a competitor is young, but its how they learn.
Lawson in a more compliant Racing Bull this weekend may even out qualify his replacement as Tsunoda tries to get to grips with a pig of a handling RB21. Whilst quick over a single lap, the Racing Bull does not have the race pace of the RB21 and it will be there that Yuki’s experience will more likely flourish.
Tsunoda was secretly ushered to Milton Keynes to drive the RB21 in the simulator even before the confirmation was given about his promotion alongside Verstappen. The confident Japanese driver declared the car was not “particularly difficult” to drive, something which echoed his thoughts following the post season test in Abu Dhabi with the RB20.
Yuki tries different setup from Max
“I feel like the car suits my driving style and I haven’t struggled much at all to adapt,” said the Japanese driver. “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.”
Positive words indeed from Yuki, given that Max Verstappen has described this seasons offering from Red Bull as difficult to drive. “I think the window’s really small,” said the world champion after qualifying in China, which means its tough on a new driver to find the sweet spot.
Tsunoda brimming with confidence – or bravado – has set his sights on his best F1 finish in 90 Grand Prix starts. He has targeted a podium as not out of the question and plans to tackle life as Verstappen’s team mate in a different fashion from his predecessor.
“Of course, the way I want to set up the car is different from Max’s. I want to develop my own set-up, get a good understanding of it and gradually push myself to the limits from the first practice session.”The problem with this is that if the window is small where the RB21 is performing its best, the setup changes Yuki can make will also be minimal the compared to Verstappen.
In his first two visits to Suzuka in F1, Tsunoda failed to score a point though in 2024 he finally broke his duck, finishing P10 in the Grand Prix and ahead of team mate Daniel Ricciardo who was P12. Racing against Verstappen in Japan will be a while different kettle of fish for the Japanese driver, given the world champion has claimed pole and the win on his last three visits to the historic track.
Piastri spills the beans on Red Bull drive
Bizarre Alpine request to the FIA
These are crazy times in Formula One land with Red Bull topping the headlines after making Liam Lawson the driver with the shortest ever career with the team. Whilst the timing of Lawson’s demotion was a surprise for many in the paddock after the departure of Sergio Perez who had raced alongside Verstappen since 2021 filling the seat with a junior driver was never going to be easy.
Now the headlines in Japan are all about their man Yuki Tsunoda as he debuts for the best Honda powered team on the F1 grid. Lawson meanwhile may yet spring a surprise and out qualify his Japanese rival given the Racing Bull car is way easier to handle and was placed well in China before the team’s race strategy team imploded.
In other shocking news the FIA is having a ‘Pontius pilate’ moment as it appears to be washing its hands of the incoming “Frankenstein” monster power units incoming next year. Their man Nikolas Tombazis has offered the F1 teams the opportunity to retain the current hybrids before transitioning to more traditional V10 layouts in 2-3 years time…. READ MORE
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I’ve never heard of Tony Quinn, but such a claim seems excessive, & just because Tsunoda didn’t find the RB21 particularly difficult to drive in the simulator doesn’t mean he couldn’t struggle on track, which is likely based on reality.