Villeneuve: Right call by Red Bull, Lawson is mentally crushed
F1 NewsThursday, 27 March 2025 at 12:41
Jacques Villeneuve believes Red Bull made the right decision to demote Liam Lawson from Red Bull to Racing Bulls, replaced by Yuki Tsunoda with immediate effect, the 1997 F1 World Champion saying the Kiwi “paid the price” for his arrogance and failure to deliver across the opening two Grands Prix of 2025.
Villeneuve believes Red Bull’s decision to demote Lawson and promote Tsunoda was harsh but necessary given the team’s demands and the Kiwi's failure to perform across back-to-back weekends.
Villeneuve said: “It makes sense because you can have one bad race, but not two in a row on the same track—and not in a Red Bull. That’s the problem. Had he been in a Sauber, it would have been okay, but not in a Red Bull. Not when the other guy, in this case Max Verstappen, manages to be close to the front, even with a difficult car.
“Lawson does have the experience because he was in a bunch of races last year. When they were teammates, Yuki Tsunoda was quicker. Red Bull needed to do something. I don’t think Lawson right now is driving to his full potential.
"Mentally he is crushed, and it is hard to step out of that. But that’s the price you pay when you get to a big team. It either works right away or you get dropped. That is the risk you are willing to take so you have to accept it.”
Despite being dropped, Villeneuve noted that Lawson remains part of the Red Bull system: “He will still be racing in F1 with [Racing Bulls]. He has the same contract. It doesn't change the contract the drivers have. They are Red Bull drivers.”
Villeneuve: Lawson came into F1 very arrogant
Reflecting on Lawson’s rapid demise, Villeneuve said: “These two races didn't do much good for him in the paddock. It's very simple and that's the risk. When you start with Red Bull you have to be on it right away. And that's the price to pay for being put in the best team.
"You want to take that risk? Good. But then the opposite side is you'll pay a dear price if it doesn't work out. That's just the way it is. And that’s okay. That's how it should be. I thought they might give him another three races when they come back to Europe so they could then make a considered decision.
“You have to bear in mind that he came into F1 very arrogant. He came into F1 last year saying how amazing he would be and he had an attitude. When the results don’t come, it makes everybody react even stronger. It's actually the worst result ever in a Red Bull car. So, he's paying his own price there. He set himself up in a way," reckons Villeneuve.
Villeneuve highlighted that both Red Bull and Lawson knew what they were getting into: “The way Red Bull operates, when you're in the main big team normally they're very quick at making decisions. It's different if it was Racing Bulls. But at Red Bull, they need points from the second car. That's the reason they got rid of Sergio Perez. It's a difficult car to drive. It's a difficult car for a new driver to adapt to.
“But when Lawson signed the deal, he knew how difficult it would be. It's a tough one to answer because they have Tsunoda who is ready. They need points in that team, so it would be more intelligent to put Lawson in the Racing Bull so he gets more mileage under his belt.
“That’s why Racing Bull exists. It’s to give experience to drivers before they make it to the big team. So that wouldn't be a bad way to go because right now the problem is he's not in a good place mentally. It would have been very difficult for him to get up to speed, even if he has the talent," added Villeneuve.
Swift exit from Red Bull could offer Lawson a chance to reset
Villeneuve suggested that Red Bull’s swift decision to replace Lawson could prove beneficial: “Red Bull have the data that we don't. So they know that Lawson is just not there and Suzuka is a dangerous track. You don’t want to be there with the wrong mindset.
“They already have decided that as he appears to be burnt out, then you might as well change him as quickly as possible so maybe he can recover.”
Villeneuve believes the narrow performance margins in modern F1 left Lawson exposed: “The car is difficult to drive. That's one thing. Last year he was slower than Tsunoda so is he quick enough? It's difficult to say. The whole field is closer than it's ever been so if he's half a second behind Verstappen, that's enough to put him last.”
Reviewing the two race weekends, Villeneuve said both Lawson and Red Bull will be disappointed: “After Perez was removed, Red Bull wanted to take someone that was a Red Bull driver. They didn't have many drivers available and they did not want Tsunoda in the big team."
Villeneuve: It doesn't matter that the car is difficult
Villeneuve continued on the Red Bull driver dilemma: "All that they had available was Lawson and they went for it. He had a good season in Japan. He was in a few races last year. If you look at the first two races, though, it has gone much worse than anticipated. Melbourne, the conditions were difficult, but in China, in the two races, he qualified last.”
“It doesn't matter that the car is difficult, it just doesn't look good on paper and if your teammate is running at the front, but not even able to fight for wins and is having difficulty fighting for a podium, it shows how difficult that car is right now.”
Villeneuve questioned whether Tsunoda is the long-term solution: “Tsunoda would be more competitive, but will he be competitive enough? I don't know. It's really hard to judge Tsunoda’s real level but he was quicker than Lawson last year, not by much, and he had more experience.”
“We just know that he is fiery and very aggressive and that he makes mistakes, like we saw in Mexico, and that is costly as well," added Villeneuve of the next victim being thrust into the Lion's Den aka the garage next to Verstappen's #1 Red Bull.
(Quotes by NZCasino)
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