Official: Why Red Bull chose mentally strong Lawson over Tsunoda

In consultation no doubt with key figures at Red Bull and VCARB feedback, Marko decided that the driver to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull will be Liam Lawson, snubbing Yuki Tsunoda in the process. A decision that split sentiments in the Formula 1 world.

The likes of Johnny Herbert and Juan Pablo Montoya questioning the wisdom of Lawson over Tsunoda to Red Bull's 'senior' team. On the other side of the fence (this author included) as cool a character that Yuki is, he is not World Champion material... And in Max's den it would be a mauling.

Stats show that Tsunoda has 87 starts with the RBR junior team (VCARB and AlphaTauri} and would have been the logical choice. But Lawson's arrival on the scene changed the script dramatically. In his 11 starts with AlphaTauri and VCARB, he did enough to convince the powers that be at Red Bull and VCARB, for that matter, that he was the man to be a teammate to Verstappen.

In the wake of the announcement, Marko explained why the 24-year-old Japanese driver got overlooked in favour of the 22-year-old New Zealander.

Speaking to F1-Insider.com, Red Bull's special advisor and driver boss, Marko outlined the selection process: "The engineers presented comparative figures [from telemetry], which we used as the basis for the decision. In principle, it was a luxury problem; both would have deserved the promotion. But Lawson may have more room for improvement in the future. His mental strength in particular was the deciding factor in the end."

Marko was clearly referring to the almost opposite temperaments displayed by Tsunoda and Lawson during their spell together. Yuki, with undeniable speed, tends to be a tad too feisty for his own good during the heat of battle, while Lawson's approach (considering his lack of experience in F1) is far more controlled, less explosive, and with the potential to grow into an elite driver—of Oscar Piastri levels, for example.

From the outside, Tsunoda appears to be the big loser in the RBR driver musical chairs saga, but Marko insists that is not the case: "He's in Japan right now, and I spoke to him on the phone. He took the news relatively calmly. I told him to keep pushing hard with the Racing Bulls, and then we'll see what happens. He reacted positively."

"‘Welcome to Red Bull Racing" were the words Lawson heard over the phone when Horner called to confirm the promotion.And with it a double-edged sword for their new driver, on one side he will be racing for one of the greatest F1 teams of this century, but the downside is he will be partnered up with Verstappen, already a great and a four-time F1 World Champion to boot.

The RB team principal warned Lawson: “There’s no doubt that racing alongside Max, a four-time champion and one of the greatest drivers ever seen in F1, is a daunting task. But I’m sure Liam can rise to that challenge and deliver some outstanding results for us next year.”

Horner also echoed Marko's words: “Liam’s performances over the course of his two stints with Racing Bulls have demonstrated that he’s not only capable of delivering strong results but that he’s also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top.

“His arrival continues the team’s long history of promoting from within the Red Bull Junior Programme, and he follows in the footsteps of championship and race-winning drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and, of course, Max Verstappen," added the Red Bull boss.

Horner went on to elaborate on ESPN: "It was very, very tight between the two of them," Horner said. "I mean, Yuki is a very fast driver. He's got three or four seasons of experience now. He did a very good job in the tyre test for us in Abu Dhabi where the engineers were impressed with how he performed.

"With Liam, when you look and go into the analytics of his race, pace was slightly better in the races that he did. His qualifying pace was very tight with Yuki, and you've got to assume that the potential with Liam having only done 11 grand prix, is he's only going to get better and stronger. He's shown real mental resilience and toughness.

"A couple of things have stood out with me with Liam - how versatile he is. You put him into a situation, he gets on with it. If you remember his debut in Zandvoort after Daniel broke his fingers, he was racing against Max on his out lap."

He did a year in the DTM where he adjusted to driving a Ferrari GT car incredibly quickly alongside Alex Albon and generally had the upper hand. And again, his racecraft has been really one of his key strengths. So he's not afraid to go wheel-to-wheel and even rub wheels where necessary. So I think he's going to do a great job for us.

"The engineers have enjoyed working with him through the running that he's done this year. He's got a good work ethic as well. So it is great to have Yuki still involved with the Racing Bull scene next year. And of course he's on standby should he ever be required," explained Horner.

Former Toro Rosso, aka AlphaTauri, boss Franz Tost, who worked with Lawson in 2023 when the youngster made his debut for the team, as did he with Tsunoda when he made his F1 debut in 2021, told RacingNews365: "Both Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson would have deserved the promotion.

"All I can say about Liam is: He has to do his own thing and never try to compete with Max Verstappen. Max is one of the greatest of all time, on a level with Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. He is far from past his prime and has endless capacity.

"He now has the self-confidence of a four-time world champion. Focusing on his times will go wrong. That's why Liam should only think about himself and try to improve the car together with Max. Anything else would be fatal and doomed to failure," Tost warned, with some telling advice for Lawson.

Marko has got it right more than once with drivers, Vettel and Verstappen the crown jewels of the driver pool that Red Bull has tapped into. Is Lawson the answer? Or should it have been Tsunoda? 2025 will reveal all.