Did Red Bull make the right decision in choosing Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda?

Red Bull Racing has announced that Liam Lawson will join the team for the 2025 season, working alongside four-time champion Max Verstappen.

After a four-year partnership, the Milton Keynes team and Sergio Perez have agreed to end their partnership with immediate effect, although the Mexican driver still has two years left on his contract.

With this in mind, the team decided to promote from within and appointed Liam Lawson from Visa Cash App RB as Perez’s successor.

“Being announced as an Oracle Red Bull Racing driver is a lifelong dream for me. This is something I have wanted and worked towards since I was eight years old,” Lawson said in a statement.

“It’s been an incredible journey so far. I would like to thank the entire VCARB team for their support. The last six races have played a big role in my preparation for this next step.

“I would also like to thank Christian, Helmut and the entire Red Bull family for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I’m really looking forward to working with Max and learning from a world champion. I have no doubt that I will learn from his expertise. I can’t wait to get started!”

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Liam Lawson at Red Bull: A risky venture?

Speculation about Perez’s future has been swirling for months, and it recently became clear that one of the drivers from Red Bull’s sister team, Lawson or Tsunoda, could step in to replace the underperforming driver after missing out on Carlos Sainz, who had progressed in his junior team programs.

Earlier this year it was announced that the Spaniard would be leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season, making way for Lewis Hamilton to team up with Charles Leclerc in 2025.

Sainz, of course, had his eye on a place with one of the top teams – Red Bull or Mercedes – both of which had vacancies at the time as Perez was struggling with performance.

However, the team decided to extend the Mexican driver’s contract, leaving Sainz with no choice but to sign with Williams for the upcoming season.

After missing the chance to get such a talented driver, did they manage to turn the situation around by choosing the best alternative available?

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Tsunoda made a strong case for himself in the 2024 season, keeping RB in the hunt for sixth place in the constructors’ championship while Daniel Ricciardo struggled with speed.

Eventually Ricciardo was released by the team and Lawson stepped in to take his place for the final six races of the season.

During this period, the New Zealander managed to score in two of the six appearances, which contributed to the team’s eventual eighth place in the standings.

In a recent interview with Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said: “Liam Lawson reminds me of Bruce McLaren or Denny Hulme, pretty down-to-earth and mentally strong.”

“Yuki is incredibly fast, but not consistent. We saw this in Mexico, for example. And for a Japanese driver he is rather undisciplined, although that has improved.”

Despite these comments, Tsunoda has always expressed his confidence that he has what it takes to take on the challenge within the Red Bull team and compete alongside his star driver Verstappen.

With four seasons of experience since his debut with the then AlphaTauri team in 2021 and having outperformed his teammates in recent years, the Japanese driver appeared to have the necessary qualifications to make the jump.

After a post-season Pirelli tire test with Red Bull at Yas Marina, where he drove the championship-winning RB20, Tsunoda received “positive feedback” from the team and said they were “impressed” with his performance.

Despite the praise, the Milton Keynes side chose Lawson as they believed he would be a better fit with their plans to strengthen their lineup in the future. They also believe he has the necessary mental strength to compete with Verstappen.

“It was very, very close between the two of them,” Horner said. “I mean, Yuki is a very fast driver. He has three or four seasons of experience now. He did a very good job testing tires for us in Abu Dhabi and the engineers were impressed with his performance.

“If you look at Liam’s race analysis, the pace was slightly better in the races he did. His qualifying pace was very close with Yuki and one has to assume that having only completed 11 Grands Prix, Liam has the potential to only get better and stronger. He has shown real mental resilience and toughness.”

Now the question is: Will this continue when he is under the pressure of driving for Red Bull and competing against a four-time champion? Or will his lack of experience weigh on him?

The 22-year-old has only made eleven appearances in Formula 1 so far; he made his debut in 2023 when he stepped in for the injured Ricciardo. In his short career, he managed to score six points, while Tsunoda collected 91 points in four seasons.

While Lawson showed his potential in his limited time behind the wheel, the team once again took a risky gamble with an inexperienced driver – similar to what they had done in the past with Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon.

Both demonstrated their skills in teams outside of Red Bull, but struggled to gain a foothold once at the top.

Given that this approach has not worked in their favor in the past, and considering that no driver since Ricciardo has managed to succeed alongside Verstappen, one has to wonder whether this time should have been different and whether they Should have opted for a more experienced driver in the form of Tsunoda.

Lawson would have had more time to gain valuable F1 experience with RB rather than face the immense pressure of having to outperform Perez – who, apart from his last season, has performed well and played a big role in Verstappen’s first title of 2021 played.

If Tsunoda rises to the occasion and adapts to the Red Bull environment, it would be a significant gain for the team. If not, Lawson could be a solid option for the seat in a few years when he matures as a driver.

Giving Tsunoda the chance he feels he deserves would at least stop the team from nagging thoughts of what could have been.

His confidence and previous experience would certainly add value to the team in one way or another and that is vital now as they no longer enjoy the dominance they once had and soon with strong competition from McLaren, the champions of 2024, and Ferrari will face and Mercedes in the coming seasons.

But with the team opting for Liam Lawson, who undoubtedly has some great skills, it remains to be seen whether history will repeat itself or whether the result will be in their favor this time.