Christian Horner reflects on Lawson-Tsunoda showdown: “It also concerns Perez and Red Bull”. Christian Horner reflects on importance of battle between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.

Liam Lawson, a month for F1
The ruthless switch between Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson came at just the right time, at least logistically. The autumn break in Formula 1, with three Sundays off between the Singapore GP and the United States Grand Prix, has allowed the young New Zealand talent – who will start with a grid penalty due to the need to replace the power unit – to prepare thoroughly for his second debut in top-level racing. This is crucial because, looking ahead, it’s not just about beating Yuki Tsunoda, but also playing for a chance at the deputy-Max Verstappen role in Red Bull. That’s according to Christian Horner.

Christian Horner praises Liam Lawson
As a guest on the F1 Nations podcast, the Milton Keynes team principal spoke about Liam Lawson and the decision to sideline Daniel Ricciardo mid-season: “Of course, in an ideal world, we would have waited until the end of the championship. But, looking at the bigger picture, we needed more general answers regarding our drivers. And, of course, with six races left, it was a perfect opportunity to field Liam alongside Yuki and assess his results in the remaining GPs. It’s something that goes beyond Racing Bulls and also involves Red Bull. Obviously, we have a contract with Sergio for next year, but you always have to keep an eye on what comes next. Will it be Liam, or will we need to look outside the team? Or could one of the other young talents like Isack Hadjar or Arvid Lindblad step up at the right time? It’s hard to say right now.” – he pointed out.

Red Bull’s future drivers
“Last year,” Christian Horner continued, “Lawson beat Tsunoda in Singapore and Japan, he’s been fast from the start. We know he’s a fighter, he adapts quickly, and certainly the tests he’s done for us with Red Bull this year have been promising. At the same time, Yuki is a very fast driver and now also has maturity, since he’s no longer a rookie. He’s in his fourth F1 season, has a lot of experience, and by using him as a reference point, we’ve seen where Daniel stood compared to him. It will be very interesting to see what Liam can do in the next few races. My ideal scenario? Obviously, that Checo finds the form he had at the start of the year and that nothing changes. But, as we know, even two weeks in this environment is quite a long time.” As if to say, anything can still happen…