At the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Austrian team finally made its decision regarding the team’s future in terms of the lineup. The decidedly disappointing performances of Sergio Perez forced Red Bull’s management to make different choices for 2025; choices that, however, once again excluded Yuki Tsunoda.
With the firing of the Mexican driver, Red Bull had to act quickly and find a worthy teammate for Max Verstappen. While during the year the choice could have fallen on Daniel Ricciardo, with his departure, the team considered new options.
The most logical choice seemed to be promoting Yuki Tsunoda, who now has four years of experience in F1. Instead, Red Bull decided to bet on Liam Lawson, the team’s reserve driver and Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement in both 2023 and 2024.
With only 11 races completed, the New Zealander thus overtakes his Japanese teammate, who was assigned the role of reserve driver and the primary driver role at Racing Bulls alongside rookie Isack Hadjar.
No luck, then, for driver #22, who, despite consistently outperforming Liam Lawson in the last six races of 2024, did not earn Red Bull’s trust. It is now up to the New Zealander to fill the tough role of second driver in a team where Max Verstappen has always “outshone” his teammates for years.
It is not ruled out, in fact, that if Liam Lawson does not convince during the 2025 season, Red Bull may proceed with yet another replacement, as seen in recent times. In that case, Yuki Tsunoda would logically be the first candidate, but Horner’s words do not seem to point directly to the Japanese driver.
“Yuki, of course, is in the mix (of Red Bull drivers),” Christian Horner told the media. “The priority goes to our drivers. But Yuki is a very talented driver, and we will keep an eye on him and Isack Hadjar.” Meanwhile, both the Briton and Helmut Marko emphasized that Lawson’s task is to focus on himself, not Verstappen.
“What is Lawson’s goal? To score as many points as possible,” concluded Christian Horner.
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