Yuki Tsunoda says it would be “weird” for Red Bull to pick reserve driver Liam Lawson ahead of him in case it moves to replace Sergio Perezin its flagship Formula 1 team.
Despite having recently signed a two-year contract extension at Red Bull, Perez is under renewed pressure to step up his game after dramatically underperforming alongside Max Verstappen over the past two months.
It is understood Red Bull could trigger various contract break clauses during the summer break, with the team’s Silverstone test for reserve driver Lawson the latest sign that it is weighing up its options.
Daniel Ricciardo was brought back into the Red Bull fold at sister team RB as a potential replacement, but the Australian has yet to live up to expectations on a consistent basis.
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Meanwhile, Ricciardo’s team-mate Tsunoda has been enjoying the best season of his career to build on a strong 2023 campaign. But the Japanese doesn’t appear to be trusted enough by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner to step into the limelight next to world champion Verstappen, a high-pressure seat which has proved a poisoned chalice for the likes of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon in the past.
Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Tsunoda said it would be “weird” for Red Bull to consider promoting Lawson instead of him, given the New Zealander only has five F1 starts to his name while Tsunoda is steadily improving halfway through his fourth campaign.
“If they choose Liam, that would be weird,” Tsunoda said. “Liam did a really good job when he drove in the sim, but I think I did more than that. So, we’ll see how it goes. They know how to manage the drivers.”
When asked if he feels ready and deserving of a seat should Red Bull opt to make a change, he replied: “Yeah, of course. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have announced my [2025 RB] seat at an early stage this year.
“I’m feeling ready compared to the last three years and to fight against the top teams, higher positions, even with Max.
“In the end, they are the ones who are going to decide, and it’s not a thing I can control, so I’m just focusing on what I have to do the next two races.”
Tsunoda said he has only had “casual chats” about his Red Bull future with senior management in recent weeks and was told to focus on helping RB in its fight for sixth place in the constructors’ championship with a resurgent Haas.
“[It was just] casual chatting like in the hospitality,” he said. “I guess they’re not really rushing it.
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri VCARB01
Photo by: Erik Junius
“Checo was announced a few races before. Checo had performed really well and if the driver is performing well, they don’t have reason to change drivers.
“In the end, what they did was a good thing for Checo, because they didn’t want to create any pressure and that’s definitely fair.
“For myself, they wanted me to drive and focus on what I’m doing right now, so we didn’t have a serious conversation yet.
“Haas is getting very close, so I still have a lot of things to focus on with our team. Let’s see how it goes.”
