In what is turning into a rollercoaster of a Formula 1 season, Yuki Tsunoda’s shock promotion to Red Bull this week is perhaps the biggest surprise yet. Shockwaves have been sent around the motor racing world as, after just two races, Red Bull have decided to demote driver Liam Lawson and promote Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda to partner Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. This puzzling decision has prompted many to question Red Bull’s strategy and raised concerns over the handling of their drivers. Primarily, people are asking why Lawson was not given more time and why Tsunoda did not get the job in the first place.
Red Bull, although well known for being ruthless with firing drivers mid-season, have never pulled the trigger this early. They swapped Daniil Kvyat for Max Verstappen after four races in 2016 and Pierre Gasly for Alex Albon in 2019 after 12. Despite these changes being made in the pursuit of instant success, it begs the question of why Lawson was promoted in the first place if they did not have faith in him. The miniscule sample size they have seen of Lawson has been over two tracks he has never raced at in an F1 car before and in challenging conditions. With the next grand prix taking place in Japan, where Lawson drove for AlphaTauri in 2023, finishing in a respectable 11th place, it would have been a fairer assessment of his abilities to decide his future. However, therein lies a key factor in giving Tsunoda that seat now; he would be motivated to perform well at his home Grand Prix and extract the most out of the car.
Yet this second Red Bull seat has proven to be a poisoned chalice for over half a decade due to it being suited to Verstappen’s unusual driving style. With Verstappen preferring an overly sensitive car, it forces other drivers to compromise their driving styles and lose confidence in the car, which evidently occurred with Lawson and will likely plague Tsunoda too.
This risky gamble could make Red Bull look like geniuses if they find Verstappen a competent partner to make them competitive in the battle for the Constructors Championship, where they have fallen behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes in terms of the raw speed of the car. But on the other hand, and in the more likely scenario, if Tsunoda cannot be competitive then Red Bull will have wasted the high potential of Lawson and fall even further behind their rivals this year.
Image credits: “FIA F1 Austria 2023 Yuki Tsunoda” by Lukas Raich is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.