How did it come about that Red Bull chose the much less experienced Liam Lawson as Sergio Pérez‘s successor last December? Since Red Bull announced that the New Zealander would be demoted back to Racing Bulls after just two Grands Prix, many critics have been asking this question. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko reveals that the choice for Lawson over Tsunoda had to do with Adrian Newey, who has since left the team.
After four years in the Red Bull family, Yuki Tsunoda finally starts as a driver for the top team at Suzuka. The Japanese driver replaces Liam Lawson, who has been demoted back to the subsidiary team, Racing Bulls. Last December, the New Zealander was chosen as Sergio Pérez’s successor, much to the surprise of many experts. Helmut Marko now reveals why Red Bull did not immediately opt for the more experienced Tsunoda.
“Yuki had the image for a long time that he was not consistently performing and made stupid mistakes here and there,” Marko tells Kleine Zeitung. “That happened last year in Mexico, just when we had to make a decision (about Pérez’s future).” However, it was not the first race that Tsunoda caused damage. “In general, the decision can be attributed to one incident. Tsunoda hit Pierre Gasly’s car at Silverstone once, and the debris on the track subsequently damaged the bottom of Verstappen’s car, causing him to lose the race.”
Newey
According to Marko, it was primarily one man who then didn’t want to give Tsunoda another chance. “Adrian Newey was furious at the time. From that moment on, Yuki was like a red rag to a bull for him. But now Newey is gone and Yuki has worked hard on himself.” The top designer has since started his new job at Aston Martin.”
