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Formula 1

The five factors behind Red Bull swapping Lawson and Tsunoda in F1 2025

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It’s no secret that Red Bull is known for quick decisions when it comes to the driver market, but even by its standards, a change after just two race weekends is extreme. However, Red Bull has deemed it necessary to swap Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda.

The decision is presented as a collective one, after a high-level meeting in Dubai on Tuesday with team principal Christian Horner, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko and the Thai shareholders. Tsunoda gets his long-awaited shot at Red Bull after more than four years with the sister team, while Lawson is sent back to the junior outfit for now.

But what are the reasons for it, and why has the team acted ahead of the Japanese GP?

1. No signs of rapid improvement in the data

When Autosport first broke the news about the looming driver swap on Sunday, Horner reacted in the Shanghai paddock saying the team would take a good look at the numbers: “We have plenty of data from the first two races and we’ll go through that in the upcoming days.” When asked if it was better to wait for Suzuka or Bahrain – tracks Lawson was familiar with – the team boss replied: “These guys get up to speed so quickly nowadays.” In other words, Red Bull didn’t see a reason to delay their decision any longer. It was a clear indication of what was to come.

It implies that the data Horner was talking about didn’t show many signs of quick improvements on the horizon. As the focus in car development has to shift toward 2026 at some point, Red Bull felt it couldn’t afford to wait. Lawson himself seemed aware of the ticking clock as well, saying on Saturday: “I just need more time in the car, but I know I don’t have it.” When Autosport put those words to Marko, the Austrian replied: “He’s right.”

Paddock sources suggested that Lawson might have bought himself more time with a strong result in China, a points finish after starting from the pitlane, but that breakthrough performance never came. Red Bull saw no upward trend – however short the timeline may have been – and felt that waiting for the upcoming triple-header wouldn’t change things.

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Ironically, Lawson’s adaptation was named as one of the key reasons for his promotion last winter, along with his mental strengths. But in a top team and with an extremely difficult car to drive for everyone else than Max Verstappen, that adaption was too much to ask.

2. Honda’s influence behind the scenes

Another key factor in Tsunoda’s promotion is Honda’s role behind the scenes. The Japanese manufacturer is reportedly contributing around €10million and therefore sweetening the financial side of this move. It’s particularly relevant given the expensive replacement of Sergio Perez at the end of 2024. Honda’s backing has long been pivotal in Tsunoda’s Red Bull career, and now helps to tip the scales once again.

The timing of Honda’s backing is very interesting. Just weeks ago, the brand suggested that Tsunoda would need to prove himself independently with Honda’s future partnership with Aston Martin looming. But this opportunity was too good to pass up for all parties involved. Having a Japanese driver at the main team serves as an attractive way to conclude the Red Bull-Honda era in 2025 – assuming the 2026 regulations remain intact for now.

3. Tsunoda couldn’t have done more to prove himself

Beyond financial factors, Tsunoda himself deserves credit for this promotion. Once seen by the Red Bull bosses as a hot-headed driver – especially over team radio – the 24-year-old has matured to some extent. Following Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine, Tsunoda had to step up as the team leader in Faenza, first outpacing Nyck de Vries, then going toe-to-toe with Daniel Ricciardo, whose fairytale return to Red Bull never materialised because of Tsunoda having the upper hand.

Tsunoda became more consistent during the 2024 season, and that trend has continued into this year. Marko’s comments in the Shanghai paddock were telling and already hinted on a driver change: “Yuki is in the form of his life” and “this is a different Yuki than the one we saw in previous years”.

Still, it’s a notable shift in a short time frame. Just four months ago, Red Bull looked at all the factors and data and opted for Lawson, seemingly discounting Tsunoda’s experience and technical feedback. Now, those aspects play a prominent role in the team’s press release. It underlines that things can change quickly in F1 – especially within the Red Bull camp.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

4. Red Bull has more to lose with Lawson than with Tsunoda

One of Horner’s most interesting remarks on Sunday was: “We have a responsibility towards Liam, and we’ll look at what’s best for him.” At first glance, these words suggested giving him more time and therefore more races at Red Bull. But in reality, the quotes were meant slightly differently: taking responsibility by pulling Lawson out of a high-pressure situation.

Yes, the demotion is a blow to Lawson’s career momentum and confidence. But leaving him to struggle alongside Verstappen week after week might’ve done more damage in the end.

Red Bull probably sees more long-term value in protecting Lawson than Tsunoda, whose future was already uncertain beyond 2025 given Honda’s departure. As Marko said in Bahrain: “If Yuki performs well, then there’s a future. If not, then maybe there is no more chance in F1 for him.”

If Tsunoda fails at Red Bull in the remainder of this season, the Milton Keynes-based team can say it has given him the chance and move on. It’s a lower-risk proposition both financially (thanks to Honda) and strategically. The PR risk of putting Tsunoda in the very difficult Red Bull car in front of his home fans in Japan is high, but even if it fails, Red Bull might consider it a manageable loss long term, especially knowing his future was uncertain beyond 2025 anyway. Lawson, meanwhile, could be rehabilitated in an easier car – a sentiment echoed by Verstappen in China: “I think if you give Liam the Racing Bulls car, he’ll be quicker. I really think that.”

5. The high-pressure situation Red Bull is in

Ultimately, this move speaks volumes about the urgency Red Bull feels and the situation it is in. In the press release to announce the swap, Horner was quoted: “We came into the 2025 season, with two ambitions, to retain the world drivers’ championship and to reclaim the world constructors’ title and this is a purely sporting decision.”

Whether Tsunoda’s promotion over Lawson helps achieve those goals remains to be seen, and most likely it won’t make much of a difference, but it reflects the urgency. There’s pressure on both the driver line-up and the technical team. With focus inevitably turning to 2026 at some point, Red Bull knows that the first upgrades have to be spot-on. At the same time it can’t afford too many pointless weekends with the second car if it doesn’t want to lose sight of the constructors’ title already.

Red Bull feels it has to do “something”, and without many other options on the drivers’ front, “something” is giving Tsunoda’s his long-awaited chance at the main team. The real solution, however, needs to come from car development instead of driver changes – not least to prove Verstappen that Red Bull can still turn its fortunes around. If the constant struggles with its second seat have made anything clear, it is that the problem is more in the Red Bull car and not the drivers.

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Ronald Vording

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Max Verstappen

Yuki Tsunoda

Liam Lawson

Helmut Marko

Christian Horner

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Formula 1

Everything to know about Tsunoda’s F1 career amid the Red Bull driver swap

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Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson at Red Bull for the Japanese Grand Prix next week following a spate of poor performances from the New Zealander.

Partnering Max Verstappen is a tricky task on its own, but the RB21 has been prone to unpredictable handling, which has proven difficult for Lawson in the opening two rounds of the season.

The second seat at Red Bull has also been a tough place for other Formula 1 drivers, with the likes of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat already falling victim to its so-called ‘curse’ over the past decade. 

Tsunoda, in his fifth year of F1, has spent his entire career at Red Bull’s junior team, and is finally being afforded the opportunity to prove himself alongside a four-time world champion.

Here’s everything to know about him:

The Japan native was born in 2000 and started competing in the JAF Junior Karting Championship aged 10. His career quickly took off after he graduated from Honda’s Suzuka Circuit Racing School in 2016 and made his single-seater debut in Japanese Formula 4. Less than five years later, he was on the F1 grid. 

When Tsunoda arrived in Europe in 2019, he didn’t speak English and had very little knowledge of the circuits on the F1 calendar. However, he quickly got up to speed and impressed Red Bull bosses by finishing third in his only F2 campaign in 2020, having taken three victories. With Honda’s backing, he secured a seat at AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) for the next season.

As a rookie, he struggled with consistency, and his then-team-mate Gasly regularly outperformed him. The Frenchman often qualified in the top six and ended the season ninth in the standings, while Tsunoda finished 14th. He improved the following year but still lagged behind Gasly, as the team struggled throughout the season with an uncompetitive car. 

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

In 2023, Tsunoda consistently outperformed Nyck de Vries, both in qualifying and race pace. The Dutchman was unceremoniously axed after 10 grands prix and replaced by Daniel Ricciardo, whose pace was fairly on-par with Tsunoda. The youngster proved himself in 2024 with strong performances against the veteran Australian, who was once believed to be world champion material, until he was also dumped mid-season. Lawson, who stepped up from his reserve driver role in mid-2024 quickly impressed in the midfield car, often matching Tsunoda’s pace. 

When it came time to replace a flailing Sergio Perez, many were convinced that Tsunoda had earned the Red Bull seat, not only because of his improvement over the previous four seasons, but because he and Lawson were largely like-for-like. However, the Kiwi was promoted ahead of the Japanese.

Tsunoda has since stepped into a team leader role alongside 20-year-old rookie Isack Hadjar. It’s the first time that the 24-year-old has been the clear number one driver at the Italian outfit, and Red Bull bosses seem to have taken notice. Already, he’s scored three points this season, and sits 13th in the drivers’ standings going into Japan. 

Therefore, news that he’d swap places with Lawson at his home race wasn’t all that surprising, given the team’s history of switching drivers and an apparent ‘curse’ placed on the second Red Bull seat after Ricciardo’s departure at the peak of his career in 2018.

At the time, the Australian sought a new challenge at Renault after it became clear that Red Bull was placing its future championship hopes on Verstappen. It’s been a revolving door of drivers ever since. 

Gasly was promoted from Toro Rosso in 2019, but was demoted mid-season. Albon replaced him but struggled with consistency and was well off Verstappen’s pace. Perez, who joined in 2021, helped his team-mate secure his first world title, and won a handful of races. However, the Mexican’s performance quickly dropped off and, by 2024, he was significantly off the pace. Only time will tell if Tsunoda has what it takes to break the curse.

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Emily Selleck

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What’s next for Liam Lawson’s F1 career?

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Where does Liam Lawson go from here? The 23-year-old was demoted to Red Bull’s Formula 1 “B-team” after just two races behind the wheel of the squad’s tricky RB21.

He will now rejoin the familiar Racing Bulls outfit while Yuki Tsunoda steps up to partner Max Verstappen from F1’s next race on the calendar, the Japanese Grand Prix. It’s rather embarrassing news for the Kiwi, particularly after he was so outspoken about his rivalry with the Japanese driver. 

“You can’t [feel sympathy] in this sport and, if I look back over our career, I was team-mates with him in F3 and I beat him,” Lawson said in an interview with The Telegraph earlier this month. “In Euroformula, I was team-mates with him in New Zealand, and I beat him there. And then in F1 last season, I think honestly, if I look at all the times he got promoted instead of me in those early years, then no. He’s had his time. Now it’s my time.”

Tsunoda and Lawson, who joined the Red Bull junior academy in 2018 and 2019 respectively, are clearly no strangers to going head-to-head. While Lawson outperformed Tsunoda in their early careers, F1 hasn’t quite been the same story. In 2023, when Lawson stepped in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo during five races, he was outqualified by Tsunoda on all bar one occasion, though he managed to finish ahead three times. 

When the pair were team-mates again for six races in 2024, Tsunoda continued to have the upper hand during qualifying. He started every grand prix ahead of Lawson, though the New Zealander was able to come home in front on two occasions. Anyone who’s tuned into an F1 session this year would have seen Lawson was struggling while Tsunoda has come out in good form, most recently securing a sixth-placed finish in the Shanghai sprint race. 

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The key difference there, however, is that Racing Bulls’s car is much easier to drive. Red Bull on the other hand has a car — and a team — built entirely around Verstappen. It’s hardly a framework for success for a second driver. Just ask Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, or Sergio Perez.

No matter which way you look at the situation, it’s a brutal move for the team to dump Lawson after just two poor outings. Some would say it’s not enough time to properly learn the car, and that it fosters a negative environment, while others might tell Lawson he’s simply not good enough. What matters now is how he handles the demotion. 

When he returns to the lower end of the paddock in Suzuka, he can’t be bitter while talking to the media. If he wants to get back to the top end of the grid, that decision will be just as much about on-track performance as internal politics. Should the bosses think Lawson has a good attitude and has been actively working to improve, then there’s a world in which he’ll partner Verstappen at Red Bull again. 

“You’re always being evaluated,” he told Autosport late last year. “Especially in your early years in F1, with the way our contracts are [set up] and the way the teams are judging us — we have performance clauses, so we’re always under pressure. You’re never really safe.”

Even when he secured a full-time drive after Ricciardo was axed, Lawson said he never gets too comfortable: “Last year, I was trying to get a full-time seat. Now, I’ve got a full-time seat, but I’m trying to stay in Formula 1. It’s the same kind of thing. We’re obviously trying to achieve the best results, but I don’t think your mindset really changes.” 

Lawson has also received stick from F1 fans who haven’t quite taken to him the way they did with the quippy, meme-loving Tsunoda. The public perception of him is that he perhaps takes himself too seriously and was too eager to leapfrog Tsunoda to the Red Bull seat. But when was F1 ever about politely sitting on the sidelines? If Lawson wants to win over fans, he’ll need to be respectfully humble and show his willingness to work hard in the face of adversity, beginning in Japan. 

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Red Bull Racing

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Formula 1

How Red Bull’s previous mid-season F1 driver swaps worked out

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Red Bull’s impending swap between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda feels particularly brutal coming just two grands prix into the 2025 Formula 1 season – but history shows the company is not shy of shaking up its driver line-ups.

Not counting its agreement with Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi in its maiden 2005 campaign, Red Bull has rotated its driver carousel for performance reasons on several occasions.

In some instances, the decision to try its luck with the next big talent proved to be a smash hit. On others, the lack of continuity left its two teams back where they started. Here’s a look back at how the previous changes played out.

2006 – Klien vs Doornbos (Red Bull)

Robert Doornbos, Red Bull Racing with David Coulthard

Robert Doornbos, Red Bull Racing with David Coulthard

Photo by: Gareth Bumstead

After leaving four races to Liuzzi the previous year, Klien managed to make the Red Bull seat his own for 2006, alongside David Coulthard.

But, having struggled to match the 13-time grand prix winner, he was dropped before the end of the season when he publicly refused Red Bull’s offer of an IndyCar drive the following year, which Klien said drew the ire of Helmut Marko.

“I said no to that offer, and probably the mistake I did back then is that I did that publicly on Austrian television,” he told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.

“That didn’t go down very well with Helmut and then, after the race in Monza, he said: ‘OK, Christian. We finish it now!'”

In his stead Red Bull promoted third driver Robert Doornbos, who had plenty of experience with the car as at the time teams outside the top four were allowed to enter a third car in Friday practice.

Doornbos did an adequate job over the remaining three rounds, but reverted to being a test driver after that and found more success in IndyCar.

2007 – Speed vs Vettel (Toro Rosso) 

Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso

Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso

Photo by: Sutton Images

The 2007 season was an unmitigated disaster for Toro Rosso, with Red Bull weighing up whether to replace Scott Speed, Liuzzi, or both at its B-team.

An opportunity came up when its junior driver Sebastian Vettel, on loan at BMW Sauber, made a surprise debut at the United States Grand Prix in lieu of the injured Robert Kubica, after the Pole’s horror crash in Canada.

Vettel qualified seventh at Indianapolis and grabbed the last point in eighth, the youngest pointscorer ever at the age of 19. Vettel’s debut performance came at the right time as Speed’s relationship with the team broke down and, after three more retirements for the American, Red Bull brought Vettel back into the fold for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Vettel finished fourth at the Chinese Grand Prix towards the end of the year, and was kept for the following season alongside IndyCar star Sebastien Bourdais. Vettel grabbed a pole-to-flag debut win for the midfield team at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, earning him promotion to the main outfit for 2009.

And the rest is history, as they say, with Vettel and Red Bull enjoying the brand’s first dominant spell in F1 between 2010 and 2013. Needless to say, the swap was a massive success.

2009 – Bourdais vs Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) 

Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso STR04

Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso STR04

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Bourdais carried on but, despite his considerable talent and pedigree, the Frenchman struggled to match his driving style to the Toro Rosso, and started slipping behind rookie team-mate Sebastien Buemi. Bourdais’ lack of results, paired with junior team graduate Buemi’s solid debut, prompted Red Bull to put another academy graduate in the car.

Reigning British F3 champion Jaime Alguersuari thus became the youngest ever F1 driver at 19 years and 125 days – curiously still finishing his ongoing season in the World Series by Renault.

The inexperienced Alguersuari initially didn’t fare much better than Bourdais in 2009, but both he and Buemi did enough to keep their drives throughout 2010 and 2011. However, with Toro Rosso being a breeding ground for Red Bull, neither driver convinced the leadership that they were the right picks for promotion to the main team.

And, with a conveyor belt of Red Bull junior talent waiting in the wings, the team decided to replace both for 2012 with Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne. In the end Alguersuari was a solid enough performer, although it is hard to label this swap much more than a draw for Red Bull.

Famously, Alguersuari retired from racing at 25 to focus on his burgeoning DJ career, one swap that did turn out to be a success.

2016 – Kvyat vs Verstappen (Red Bull) 

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st Position, and the Red Bull team celebrate his first and record breaking F1 win

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st Position, and the Red Bull team celebrate his first and record breaking F1 win

Photo by: Andrew Hone / Motorsport Images

Stability at the A-team with Vettel and Mark Webber meant there were few opportunities for junior drivers to advance past Toro Rosso, with Ricciardo next in line in 2014.

But, once Vettel left for Ferrari and Red Bull’s first dominant era came to an end, there was a brief transitional period that featured several drivers fighting for their chance.

Daniil Kvyat initially replaced Vettel after one year at the sister squad, but in Carlos Sainz and teenage sensation Max Verstappen, two young challengers were already nipping at the Russian’s heels.

Despite his youth and lack of experience, Verstappen soon emerged as a generational talent and, once Kvyat started having a wobble and made a series of mistakes, Red Bull wasted little time swapping the two ahead of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen won on his Red Bull debut, becoming by far the youngest ever grand prix winner aged 18 and the team finally found its heir to Vettel – emulating the German with four consecutive drivers’ titles to date. A reasonable success then, that swap.

2017 – Kvyat vs Gasly vs Hartley (Toro Rosso) 

Pierre Gasly, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Brendon Hartley, Scuderia Toro Rosso

Pierre Gasly, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Brendon Hartley, Scuderia Toro Rosso

Photo by: Sutton Images

Kvyat was officially sent back to Toro Rosso to regain his form and confidence but, as Verstappen and Ricciardo formed a strong partnership at the main team, the Russian was stuck in limbo at the Faenza squad.

Meanwhile, GP2 champion Pierre Gasly became the next in line for an F1 nod. Gasly replaced Kvyat from Malaysia 2017 onwards, with Kvyat returning for one more race when Carlos Sainz left for Renault and Gasly dovetailed F1 with his Super Formula campaign.

The team also brought in Porsche’s Le Mans winner Brendon Hartley for the Austin race alongside Kvyat, and promptly decided to keep the New Zealander as Sainz’s permanent replacement. 

While Hartley never managed to establish himself at the team, Gasly went on to become a grand prix winner with AlphaTauri and later a valued team leader at Alpine, so at least that part of the swap was a resounding success. His Red Bull career, not so much.

2019 – Gasly vs Albon (Red Bull) 

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Alex Albon, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Alex Albon, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

With Ricciardo replacing Sainz at Renault in 2019, Red Bull needed a new team-mate for Verstappen, who had matured into a formidable opponent.

Red Bull turned to Gasly as the solution but, while Ricciardo was able to run Verstappen close, the Frenchman had a much tougher time, qualifying over half a second per lap off his team-mate on average.

As Gasly’s disappointing performances continued, Red Bull decided to pull the trigger after 12 grands prix, swapping him with Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. 

But, as rookie Albon had even less experience than Gasly, he too struggled to keep pace with Verstappen in the difficult to handle Red Bull that was tailored towards the Dutchman’s unique driving style.

Albon ended up losing his seat at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign and, while he turned into a key pillar of the Williams team, the swap with Gasly itself was a failure from Red Bull’s point of view.

2023 – de Vries vs Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) 

Nyck de Vries, Scuderia AlphaTauri

Nyck de Vries, Scuderia AlphaTauri

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

If Gasly lasting only 12 races at Red Bull was a new record across the Red Bull family’s two teams, then that dubious accolade was broken by Nyck de Vries in 2023.

De Vries was the latest outsider brought in at Red Bull’s B-team as its junior squad went through a rough patch, while the Dutchman impressed on a one-off outing in Monza with Williams the previous year.

But de Vries found it harder to get along with the AlphaTauri and a couple of early crashes swiftly piled on the pressure. With Red Bull struggling to see much progress, De Vries was unceremoniously dropped after a 10-round stint.

A Silverstone test convinced Red Bull to give its prodigal son Ricciardo a second lease on life in F1, replacing de Vries from Hungary onwards.

But Ricciardo’s comeback was soon thwarted when he suffered a fractured hand in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix and, while the Australian proved a clear upgrade over de Vries, he couldn’t convince Red Bull that he would be a good fit for a return as Verstappen’s team-mate at the main outfit. He was axed after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

2024 – Ricciardo vs Lawson (Racing Bulls) 

Liam Lawson,VCARB

Liam Lawson,VCARB

Photo by: Erik Junius

Ricciardo was replaced by Red Bull’s latest junior team hotshot Liam Lawson, who had already made a solid impression as the Australian’s replacement while he recovered from his Zandvoort injury.

Lawson was evenly matched with team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, as the pair competed for a chance to dislodge Sergio Perez as he too struggled to keep up with Verstappen.

In the end, Red Bull decided to promote Lawson over the more experienced Tsunoda for 2025, citing that Lawson’s lack of experience meant he had a bigger potential upside, and feeling he was better equipped to deal with the demands of the Red Bull pressure cooker.

After only two disappointing weekends, it appears Red Bull is now ready to row back on that decision in what would be its most ruthless driver swap of the lot.

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Filip Cleeren

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Red Bull Racing

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How did Hadjar compare to Tsunoda in first F1 race start at Shanghai?

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For Isack Hadjar, Australia doesn’t count.

In our analysis of rookie debuts, thanks to the bumper crop of newcomers trickling into the field across the past six months, there’s been a lot to discuss. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Gabriel Bortoleto got their appraisals last week but, given Hadjar registered a Did Not Start in the Australia opener, it was impossible to delve into the Racing Bulls driver’s debut run beyond the environs of qualifying.

Thankfully, China offered the Franco-Algerian racer two bites at the cherry to showcase his worth and atone for his blunder Down Under. It’s probably fair to say he achieved that; although he received an unjust reward of nil points owing to his team’s over-commitment to the two-stopper, Hadjar demonstrated great speed and capable race pace throughout the Shanghai weekend and had looked set for a debut top 10.

In outqualifying Yuki Tsunoda for the grand prix, no mean feat in itself, Hadjar proved that underlying pace. It helps that the VCARB 02 appears to be a well-mannered machine – a distinctly different customer to Red Bull’s RB21, which has the same powertrain/gearbox/suspension basis but very little similarity in its on-track characteristics. Still, the 20-year-old’s performance was plenty encouraging for the squad, particularly as Tsunoda has largely dominated his team-mates in recent seasons.

Here’s what we learned about Hadjar’s first full F1 weekend.

Qualifying pace – Hadjar’s bravery leads to tiny margin over Tsunoda

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Both Hadjar and Tsunoda broke through into Q3 in setting the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix. And, after their opening runs, Hadjar was 0.19 seconds faster despite conceding time in the opening sector. Tsunoda was quicker through the winding Turn 1-2-3 complex and took a bit more speed into the Turn 6 braking zone, but this compromised his exit and allowed Hadjar to get on the throttle a smidgen sooner. Interestingly, Hadjar lifted through Turn 7 slightly sooner than his more experienced team-mate, but not by quite as much. 

GPS data shows his throttle hovering around the 85% mark, while Tsunoda lifted later and dropped to about 70% throttle in the meantime. As a result, Hadjar simply carried more speed through this section and the momentum swing worked in his favour by about a tenth.

Overall, Hadjar just seemed to be happier in tacking on the throttle earlier through the quicker corners, and incrementally built up speed out of Turn 12/13 as he hit full pedal travel sooner than Tsunoda. And, although Tsunoda was much happier in braking later for Turn 14, the later throttle application was a net laptime penalty; he went in with a 0.1s deficit and exited with a 0.2s one. Slow in, fast out worked nicely for Hadjar.

Before Tsunoda lost adhesion in Turn 13 on his final flyer and sustained a snap of oversteer at the rear, he was tracking at about a tenth behind Hadjar’s second Q3 effort out of the second sector. Perhaps an attempt to use more throttle in the long right-hander went awry; either way, the less experienced driver had the run of pace through the circuit.

Hadjar believed that there was more time available; having been comfortable in Q1 and, having clocked a 1m31.162s at the death of the session to get the second fastest time, the Frenchman felt that wind in Q2 and Q3 had hurt the balance of the car slightly as the circuit was improving. His Q3 headliner was only a tenth faster than that Q1 time, suggesting that the changing wind conditions rather nullified the effect of a grippier track. 

“I could never find the same balance, so I was struggling a bit more with the car and I knew I was losing out – I think there was more lap time, more positions to gain,” said Hadjar.

It wasn’t all peachy on one lap; Hadjar fluffed his lines in sprint qualifying, although had been quicker than Tsunoda in SQ1 by – again – a smidgen. The speed is there, and the execution got better through the weekend. There’s something about Shanghai and Hadjar’s style that just seemed to chime, especially as his Racing Bulls’ front end had looked very manageable in the longer corners.

Race pace – Middling sprint, improvements in grand prix, but questions about killer instinct

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

After lining up 15th for the sprint, Hadjar lost a position to Pierre Gasly off the line, although enjoyed a relatively lengthy battle with his countryman throughout the race. But it was clear that being stuck in the pack was detrimental to tyre life in the sprint, as a 19-lap stint on mediums arguably surpassed the limit of the tyres, and thus Hadjar had to be relatively careful.

He made up a place in the opening flurry of laps with a move on F2 title rival Bortoleto, then collected another midway through the sprint when Carlos Sainz pitted. Hadjar collected 13th when Oliver Bearman ran out of tyres towards the end and began to ail.

By comparison, Tsunoda spent the entirety of the race fending off Antonelli, who had coveted the Japanese driver’s stranglehold over sixth place. A fleet-footed start brought Tsunoda ahead off the line, and Lando Norris’ Turn 6 excursion yielded a further upgrade in position. From there, his race was spent containing a potential Antonelli assault; although having clear air ahead made the job slightly more manageable in a tyre management respect, it denied him the chance to match the Italian with DRS assistance. In that vein, Tsunoda’s defence was commendable.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Chinese Sprint race laps comparison

Hadjar admitted after qualifying that he wanted to emulate Tsunoda’s prowess off the starting grid, but was unable to do so; although he expected to lose a position to Antonelli at the start, watching his team-mate also steal past was not on his wishlist. It was a struggle for Hadjar to stick with Tsunoda in DRS range, even if the two drivers were relatively well-matched on the medium tyre. 

But the split between the two on race pace with the hard diverged more; although the pace delta wasn’t huge, Tsunoda’s ability to squirrel away time over Hadjar on seemingly every lap allowed his advantage to snowball over the second stint. What’s more is that Tsunoda managed to bank three extra laps on his hard-tyre stint, although the team committed to the two-stopper and effectively took itself out of the running.

In that second hard stint, Tsunoda had just picked up the pace over Hadjar when his front wing decided to spontaneously snap and pulled him out of the running for points. It would have been a tough ask for both drivers to make their way back into the top 10, given that Lance Stroll didn’t manage it on immediate pace from a similar position (albeit later benefitted from disqualifications). 

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team, Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Chinese GP race laps comparison

Towards the end of that final stint, Hadjar’s pace is a bit all over the place; his battle with Jack Doohan being the main contributing factor. By rights, he should have passed the Australian given his car and tyre advantage, but ended up getting blocked and run out of road on a couple of occasions. It’s in those moments, and at the start, where Hadjar perhaps appears to lack that spark to make the pinch-points work for him. That’ll come in time, particularly as he gathers greater mental acuity as less of his bandwidth is being used to consciously drive the car, but these moments suggest that he doesn’t possess a completely natural feeling at the moment.

The final laps have been omitted from our graph as Hadjar’s aren’t comparable to Tsunoda; the latter’s broken wing had forced him to pit for a third time on lap 46 – and Racing Bulls decided to fit some old mediums for the final throes of the race in the event it could benefit from any force majeure. Hadjar did not have to endure that fate, but Doohan was holding him up.

In brief, Hadjar’s ‘proper’ debut was largely mistake-free, and should go some way to dispelling the languid slip into the wall on Australia’s formation lap. The gaps to Tsunoda will be an encouraging starting point, particularly as Tsunoda has been relatively keen to help Hadjar bed into the team. Of the key plus points, that confidence in the Racing Bulls package in qualifying will serve Hadjar well in circuits where the corner radiuses are longer; Melbourne seemed to be more of a struggle versus his team-mate, suggesting Tsunoda might be happier in more rear-limited conditions.

Hadjar has likely bought himself plenty of time to get acquainted with the rigours of managing race pace in F1, and having the latitude to make the right decisions in the moment on-track to carry out passes and maximise starts, pitstop entries, and the like. It’s all about the little details, after all. Yet, given expectations of Hadjar were probably quite low to begin the year with, he’s been pleasantly surprising thus far. 

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Jake Boxall-Legge

Formula 1

Yuki Tsunoda

Isack Hadjar

RB

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Formula 1

Rebel with a cause – New Racing Bulls partner aiming to complete the ‘challenger’s code’

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For RebelDot, the devil is in the detail – or, more specifically, in the data. All seven megabytes pour in from each Racing Bull every second, that is.

It is becoming increasingly common for Formula 1 teams to have their own partners who deal with data, intelligent automation and insights, crunching numbers at such speed that they can cover in an hour what a human would struggle to process in a lifetime.

RebelDot partnered with Racing Bulls before the start of the 2025 season and, with its CEO and founder Tudor Ciuleanu being a fan of motorsport while his son is a keen karter, once F1 became a potential space in which to operate, the deal was a chance to show what a smaller operation could do at the very top.

“At RebelDot, we don’t follow; we lead,” said Ciuleanu. “Formula 1 is the ultimate arena where engineering, speed, and strategy meet at the edge of human and technological potential. While the mechanics and aerodynamics have been fine-tuned for decades, we see an opportunity to push boundaries on the digital front.

“For us, this isn’t just sponsorship; it’s about redefining the grid and breaking the limits of what’s possible through innovation.” 

RebelDot builds from the ground up. When it agreed a partnership with the Red Bull sister squad, it was not marketing a specific commodity. It is the commodity, as its head of F1 strategy and partnerships, Alastair Liddell, explains to Autosport.

“I think what it comes down to is there is now tangible value that can be delivered if the right tools are put into place,” he said.

Alastair Liddell, RebelDot

Alastair Liddell, RebelDot

Photo by: RebelDot

“That could be something as simple as internal processes when building technology. Or during a race, you now have these massive dumps of data at seven megabytes a second coming off a car, which is colossal. 

“It is a bit contentious, but the answers to podiums, race wins, championships, it is somewhere within that big pool of data. That is just a fact. But it doesn’t mean it is easy to find.

“Our job now is to really become an integrated partner with the team and be able to bring our expertise into that and push where it hurts.

“It’s not all about hugs and kisses or drinking champagne, it is quite the opposite. It’s going in and saying these processes will deliver better results in terms of that building.

“So a lot of it is going to come down to how we help them build new sources of information, because we’re a custom builder. This is where we’re very integrated. We’re not coming with a product. The product is RebelDot.”

Liddell is an integral part of the RebelDot operation having met Ciuleanu on one of his many visits to Cluj to visit his now wife, Casandra, and he believes Racing Bulls was the perfect place for RebelDot to set out its path into F1.

“We are sort of trying to be the flag bearer for the small guy,” he said. “Our overarching campaign for season one is the ‘challenger’s code’, which is defined by the different ways in which we work, the mentality which we work with.

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“It is ‘Rebel’ for a reason. There is a rebel in there. We tend not to conform to just how others do it and through experience, try and do things differently.

“I opened up the conversation (with Racing Bulls) saying, ‘look, we’re not Oracle, we’re not IBM, far from it. 

“But what we are is exceptionally talented and with a big data and AI focus’ and it all really linked up with what Laurent (Mekies, Racing Bulls boss) was envisaging for the team.

“So, for RebelDot the goal is to help them be faster on and off the track but at the same time it is for us to challenge the status quo on those big brands.

“You don’t have to spend tens of millions to deliver good quality. It is true that size doesn’t matter. It’s not sticking a logo on a car. It’s not that at all. It’s quite the opposite.”

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Mark Mann-Bryans

Formula 1

RB

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Lawson, Tsunoda or even Colapinto? Why Red Bull has tough decisions to make

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The second Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen has long been considered one of the toughest roles in Formula 1. Still, speculation about a driver change after just two races is extreme, even by Red Bull standards.

Liam Lawson began his full-time Red Bull campaign with optimism, but by now admits that he is struggling more than expected. The New Zealand driver has finished 18th, 20th, and 20th in his three qualifying appearances – placing him last on the grid two consecutive times, something no Red Bull driver has experienced before. His race results – DNF, 14th and 12th – don’t look much better, with the 12th place in China boosted by three post-race disqualifications.

Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, paddock sources suggested a driver change before Japan is not out of the question. Horner didn’t dismiss that possibility after the race either, saying the team will review all the data: “We have data from the first two races and we’ll look carefully at that. We have 400 engineers in the team and 600 sensors on the car, so we have a huge amount of information to go through.”

Asked whether Lawson’s seat for Suzuka is guaranteed, Horner repeated that the team has a “responsibility” towards him, but avoided giving a direct answer. “We’re two races in and we’ve just finished this race. I think we take away the information we have.” While one might argue Lawson should be judged on tracks he knows like Bahrain and Suzuka, Horner downplayed the significance of that aspect: “I think these guys get up to speed pretty quickly. We’ll take away a stack of data and have a look at it.”

If the data suggests Lawson is unlikely to improve in the short term, Red Bull may well feel the need to act. “I think Liam still has got potential. We’re just not realising that at the moment. I think the problem for him is he’s had a couple of really tough weekends. He’s got all the media on his back and the pressure naturally grows in this business. I feel very sorry for him. You can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.” Internally, Red Bull’s main dilemma is balancing the hard data with the human side – and whether it’s fair to make a change after giving Lawson a chance for just two races.

Tsunoda in the spotlight – but promotion before Japan a major risk?

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

If Red Bull does make a switch, Yuki Tsunoda is the obvious candidate to step up. The Japanese driver wasn’t promoted over the winter, but Helmut Marko offered notable praise in China, implying that his opinion on Tsunoda has changed. “Yuki is in the shape of his life,” the Austrian said. “He’s a different Yuki now than in recent years. He changed management, he has a different approach, and is more mature. It took a while for him, but now it seems to be working.”

It underlines that Tsunoda is being taken more seriously by Red Bull than before. His Red Bull test in Abu Dhabi is part of the current evaluation, together with data from the past race weekends at Racing Bulls. “He did very well in that test with us,” Horner said. “It’s useful data for us, but we always look at the bigger picture.” When asked if Tsunoda is the first in line, the Red Bull team boss replied: “I’m not even going to comment on a change, because that would be your first headline! We have quite a bit of information. We’re going to go away and have a good look at it, and work with Liam to do the best that we can for him.”

With personal aspects playing a role in any decision on Lawson, exactly the same applies to Tsunoda. Putting him into the tricky RB21 ahead of his home race at Suzuka is a major risk for all parties involved if he struggles like Lawson. Tsunoda has impressed so far, but as Verstappen has noted the Racing Bulls car is completely different from the Red Bull: “When I talk to Liam, that Racing Bulls car is definitely easier to drive than our car.”

Is Red Bull’s car the real issue?

Ultimately, the root of the problem may not be the drivers, but the car itself. The second Red Bull seat is challenging for several reasons. First, Verstappen’s sheer pace is difficult to match in equal machinery and makes any team-mate’s job daunting. Once drivers start to experiment with extreme set-ups to match him, things usually get even worse. Secondly, the RB21 is tailored to Verstappen’s driving style to some extent, as sources within the team confirm. The car has a very sharp front end and a loose rear, a combination that many drivers have found impossible to master.

Alex Albon described the Red Bull car as “a [computer] mouse with sensitivity at 100%” – extremely reactive and therefore equally difficult to handle for anyone with a different driving style. Since Daniel Ricciardo’s departure in 2018, none of his successors – Gasly, Albon, Sergio Perez and now Lawson – have been able to handle the task of sitting next to Verstappen. From the outside, there is little reason to believe Tsunoda would fare differently at the main team.

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

From a technical standpoint, there’s logic to building a car with the extreme characteristics that suit Verstappen better than others. The Dutchman has delivered with four world titles and is Red Bull’s only chance to compete at the front. In 2025, things got even more difficult for any driver next to him. Red Bull’s dominance from 2022 and 2023 is gone which means it needs to push the boundaries even more to be competitive. Add to it that the current F1 field is extremely competitive, meaning the second Red Bull can get knocked out of Q1 with a deficit that was good enough to secure a place on the front row just a few years ago.

Colapinto a surprise candidate at Racing Bulls?

The other big question for Red Bull is what to do with Lawson and the second Racing Bulls’ seat, if they decide to go ahead with a driver change. The most straightforward solution would be to swap Lawson and Tsunoda, allowing Lawson to reset at the sister team.

“Liam is a young guy. We’ve got a duty to look after him. And we’re going to do the best that we can to support him. He’s still a very capable driver. We know that. We’re just not seeing it for whatever reason. We’re not seeing him able to deliver that at the moment,” Horner said.

This leaves room for interpretation. Protecting Lawson could mean three different things: keeping him at Red Bull for some more races, giving him the comfort of an easier car at Racing Bulls, or temporarily benching him as Red Bull’s reserve driver. The last option would be particularly harsh given how long Lawson had to wait for his F1 debut, but is fuelled by Spanish media reports linking Franco Colapinto to Racing Bulls. Helmut Marko was seen in Alpine’s hospitality in Shanghai on Sunday – and it wasn’t to taste the French coffee.

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

How serious the Colapinto option is remains to be seen for now, as it becomes clear that this storyline is partly pushed by the Argentinian’s camp. It’s linked to Jack Doohan at Alpine. The Australian had a particularly difficult debut in Abu Dhabi, but has shown more speed during the first race weekends of 2025. Doohan is currently making a better impression at Alpine than before, perhaps better than expected. He made a rookie mistake in Melbourne, but managed to match Pierre Gasly’s race pace in China and was close to the Frenchman in qualifying. Doohan was only a tenth off on Saturday and ahead of Gasly in sprint qualifying.

If an opportunity at Alpine takes longer than thought, it’s normal that Colapinto’s management is looking at all places where an opportunity may present itself. In the world of F1, where everyone is talking to everyone, it’s equally logical for Red Bull to explore the market and assess all available options. Colapinto (temporarily) to Racing Bulls is simply one of those options.

Neither the Red Bull seat next to Verstappen nor the Racing Bulls situation has been decided yet, and given the different interests and parties involved it’s too complex to predict now.

But one thing is clear: the next few weeks are crucially important for the Milton Keynes-based team. Verstappen will visit the Red Bull factory this week to discuss the RB21’s weaknesses and push for improvements to save his championship hunt. At the same time the team needs to make decisions on the driver front much earlier than anticipated. These are season-defining weeks already, at least if Red Bull doesn’t want to fall behind in both championships.

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Ronald Vording

Formula 1

Yuki Tsunoda

Liam Lawson

Franco Colapinto

Red Bull Racing

RB

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Formula 1

Better than seventh possible in China F1 quali without wind changes

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Isack Hadjar reckoned his Racing Bulls car had the potential to be even further up the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix after qualifying seventh for his second Formula 1 race.

The Frenchman eased into the final part of qualifying and outqualified team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, albeit as the Japanese driver aborted his final lap following an off at Turn 13.

Despite qualifying only 0.438 seconds behind Oscar Piastri’s pole lap, Hadjar believed there was the possibility to gain a couple more positions and interlope among the frontrunning teams, citing the changing wind direction as a mitigating factor.

Having felt the balance in his VCARB 02 was good in the opening part of qualifying, the diminutive Parisian believed this began to slip away as the wind shifted throughout the session, and this left time on the table in Q3.

“I think the best feeling I had was in Q1 with the car and then Q2 I think the wind was just changing a bit,” Hadjar said.

“I could never find the same balance, so I was struggling a bit more with the car and I knew I was losing out. I think there was more lap time, more positions to gain.

“I think if I can get my start improved [to be] like Yuki, then I think I have a good shot at staying around where I’m at.

“Of course the goal is to score points. To be with the big boys, it’s definitely a good feeling.

“The problem is simply the launch in the first few metres; I think this morning was not amazing, and I have a few issues but I know what to improve.”

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

One of the key strengths in the Racing Bulls machinery in China has been with the car’s front end, which has allowed both Hadjar and Tsunoda to point their cars through the corners and needing minimal corrections on the wheel.

On a front-limited track like Shanghai, where the grip of the front tyres is the defining factor, the weekend has so far played into the Italian squad’s hands.

Although it showed this trait in Melbourne during the season opener, which Hadjar said allowed him to feel immediately comfortable, he said it was indicative of what the car had shown in Bahrain testing.

“I hit the ground [running] in Melbourne straight away,” said Hadjar. “Relative to the others, the car felt performant, but in terms of feeling compared to Bahrain, it didn’t feel like worlds apart.

“Maybe we are good at hiding [our testing pace], I don’t know, but we had the same package, so there’s no reason for the car to be much better.

“[The result] shows the potential is really high but then at the moment, at this stage of my career, putting everything together on the final Q3 lap is the hardest exercise for me, so I need to work a bit on that.”

In this article

Jake Boxall-Legge

Formula 1

Isack Hadjar

RB

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Formula 1

How Tsunoda has already put Lawson and Red Bull under pressure

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It’s very early days. F1’s 2025 season has only just started. But making an impression in a Formula 1 paddock is somewhat similar to a date: the initial impact really matters. You screw the first few lines during a dinner at a restaurant, and it’s almost impossible to recover. You get knocked out in the first segment in qualifying two times in a row while driving one of the best cars on the grid, and people already start to question whether you’re good enough for the job.

Liam Lawson was always going to be in the hot seat in the first few races. Red Bull has put a lot of faith in New Zealander by promoting him to the senior team after just 11 race starts in F1 – at the expense of Yuki Tsunoda, who’s now starting his fifth season with the junior squad.

Even if no one expected Lawson to immediately match Max Verstappen’s levels of performance, simply showing better results than Sergio Perez did at the end of last year would have been considered satisfying for someone who the F1 world is still struggling to remove the ‘rookie’ tag from. And with all due respect to the Mexican, it didn’t look like a completely impossible task.

But Lawson’s first full race weekend as a Red Bull driver in Melbourne topped most of Perez’s underperformances from last year: he was out in Q1 in qualifying and had a really challenging race, struggling to make ground initially and then crashing out when the rain intensified. Even Isack Hadjar, who probably had one of the worst weekends of his life, managed to impress more, having at least showed his speed in qualifying.

The first day in China didn’t go well either, with Lawson not only getting knocked out of SQ1 but ending up last – with Verstappen, who’s always there to provide the highest benchmark possible, missing pole by just 0.018s.

The very first impression wasn’t great. Not to the extent that “the date” is about to be over before the main course arrives – but Lawson, for sure, is already on the back foot.

At the same time, the New Zealander’s failure to impress was probably the only scenario in which the spotlight could return to Tsunoda. And it was a matter of time before the first evaluations of Red Bull’s winter choices would appear in the media.

Of course, Zak Brown’s Tsunoda praise and Lawson criticism shall be taken with a pinch of salt. After all, how could McLaren’s team boss miss an opportunity to play mind games with a driver who drives for a potential title rival team?

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

But it wasn’t at all unfounded either.

It would have been to some extent expected to see Tsunoda frustrated and even demotivated after another Red Bull snub. But he did come out of the winter fighting.

“He probably left to Japan at the end of last year with a disappointment, as probably we would all feel,” Racing Bulls’ team boss Laurent Mekies told Autosport in Shanghai. “It was visible, and rightly so. I think he actually got the news when he was there, but it was not looking good when he left.

“And it was always going to be a question mark, how he’s processing that and which mindset he’s coming back [in]. When he came back to Europe, honestly, we saw straight away that he was in super strong spirits. Already in the opening weeks of work in Faenza, in the simulator, he was in very, very strong spirits straight away. High motivation, very focused, down to the details, hard willingness to work even harder than what he was doing.

“And then we went to the Bahrain test, and in the Bahrain test, after those three days, we looked at each other and we said, ‘We have another Yuki’. That’s what we said to each other internally.

“You heard us very often last year saying that Yuki has made a huge step last year, and that’s how we felt. And we don’t think it’s only what you see on the radio or the feedback. It’s a global step. You go faster in the car, you are more consistent, the speed is going up, the technical feedback is going up. And we always say it’s going to be, I guess, our responsibility to make sure that, if there are more steps, we have the environment for him to extract them.

“And straight away after Bahrain, we saw he’s doing stuff that he was not doing last year. In terms of what he was reporting from the car, in terms of what he was doing in the car, and in terms of how much more of a leadership role he was taking in the team. And we said it to each other, and also to him.”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 02, Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 02, Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Tsunoda’s Melbourne weekend – in contrast to Lawson’s – was almost perfect until the rain threw the team’s strategy out of whack. He qualified fifth, ahead not only of a Red Bull car he wanted to be in, but also both Ferraris. He then was on course to finish the race sixth, but the wrong call by the team – with Mekies admitting a mistake by the pitwall – meant that he ultimately failed to capitalise on his strong form.

“He did a huge weekend in Melbourne,” Mekies said. “Huge weekend. In the car, outside of the car. And I’m sure you’ve seen him. Sky-high motivation. Very much pulling the team also in the most difficult moments, which you always have in the weekend. And in the car, another step of speed, of control and of feedback.

“So what can I tell you? You come from a very good sample. But I guess what I’m trying to tell is that it was not only the Melbourne one-lap qualifying [pace]. It was a very, very huge weekend. Including in the race up until he was there…

“And we saw the signs of that already earlier this winter when he came back.”

The end result was the only thing missing in Australia for Tsunoda – and it also hasn’t gone unnoticed that even during the phase of the race where the Japanese driver lost several positions through no fault of his own, he remained calm on the radio. Even if the importance of his emotionality has been overblown at times, it’s still impressive to notice Tsunoda didn’t provide the F1 broadcast crew with some juicy rant on the team radio.

“To make you smile,” said Mekies. “After that last [wrong strategy] call he was trying to cheer us up on the radio. Which you imagine for all the emotion of the guys fighting for it for an hour and a half… it tells a lot about how much he is surprising us by his capability to improve and progress.”

That aspect received particular attention last year, with the team’s racing director Alan Permane revealing that they watched onboards of top drivers together with Tsunoda to improve communication. It seems that this work is starting to pay off as well – yet Mekies dismisses any claim that this is the team’s achievement.

“I think he should take the credit for that, Yuki,” he says. “Because as non-drivers we look at everything in a very rational way and then the game is probably different once you are out there closing your visors fighting with the top guys for whatever, 45 laps in the wet. So credit to him. He was outstanding. Part of the weekend in Melbourne was, he was certainly outstanding also in the way he interacted with his team outside of the radio – but on the radio in a race like that where you need good communication, he was very, very good.”

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

And it’s not only Mekies who’s seeing a “different” Tsunoda this year, but Helmut Marko as well.

“Yuki is in the form of his life so far,” he told Autosport after sprint qualifying in Shanghai, where the Japanese again was best of the rest – behind only Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Verstappen’s Red Bull. Praise doesn’t get much better than this with Marko.

If Tsunoda really wants to capitalise on Lawson’s struggles, he needs to keep performing at the same level consistently, without letting frustration creep in when results slip away from him.

After all, it’s Tsunoda’s mental strength that Marko cited as the main reason why he was not promoted.

A lot will depend on Racing Bulls’ performance, but also on Lawson’s form. And even if it’s hard to imagine his season starting in even worse fashion, it is much too early to question his immediate future. His Red Bull date isn’t over yet – and at least in public, Marko and Christian Horner are willing to wait and be patient.

One of the reasons for Lawson’s promotion, as Red Bull bosses always underlined, was his alleged ability not to crack under pressure.

Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing

Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“I think Liam’s got a pretty sensible head on his shoulders,” Horner repeated once again on Friday in Shanghai during the team principals’ press conference, which took place right before sprint qualifying. “It was a tough baptism for him. He still came away with the second fastest race lap [in Melbourne]. And I just told him: ‘Ignore the naysayers, ignore social media, put your head down and you’ll be fine.’ He just needs a bit of time.”

What is sure is that Lawson’s said strength is now really going to be stress-tested, as the pressure is piling up – whether in the form of questions from the media, Brown’s comments, or even memes on social media, which already compare him to Perez. And along with him, the entire Red Bull driver programme is being stress-tested as well – the same programme that, after bringing Verstappen to F1, failed to produce a second driver who wouldn’t look average next to him.

Or, perhaps, did produce such a driver – but has simply failed to trust him.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

In this article

Oleg Karpov

Formula 1

Yuki Tsunoda

Liam Lawson

Red Bull Racing

RB

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Formula 1

Marko slams Hadjar’s tearful Australian GP exit as “embarrassing”

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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was left unimpressed by Isack Hadjar’s behaviour after the French driver burst into tears at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Hadjar’s misery stemmed from his wet-weather crash on the formation lap of the Albert Park race, which happened as early as Turn 2 and meant he was unable to take his very first grand prix start.

Hadjar was inconsolable on his way back to the paddock, finding solace in Anthony Hamilton’s arms, but Marko took a dim view of this emotional display.

The Austrian told radio broadcaster ORF that Hadjar had “put on a tearful show”, then added: “That was a bit embarrassing.”

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Anthony Hamilton

Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team, Anthony Hamilton

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Marko’s opinion is at odds with Christian Horner’s, with the Red Bull team principal tipping the Racing Bulls driver to bounce back in the future.

“It was quite heart-wrenching to see him so gutted,” Horner said. “His first grand prix.

“I think the positives he needs to take out of it, when he reflects on the weekend – he actually performed very well in the practices and the qualifying.

“You forget that these guys are just kids, really. Obviously a lot of emotion for him today, but I think when he strips it back, there’s an awful lot of positives that he can take out of the weekend. He’s got many bright days ahead of him.”

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Hadjar said he was “embarrassed”, “really sorry for the team” and “just mad that these mistakes can happen”, but insisted he had the mental strength to overcome this hardship.

“I’ve had similar moments, low moments like this,” he added. “This one is tough, but my way to F1 was also quite brutal. I would say I have a strong chin, but this one definitely hits pretty hard.”

Additional reporting by Christian Nimmervoll and Filip Cleeren

In this article

Ben Vinel

Formula 1

Isack Hadjar

RB

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