When it was announced on 18 December 2024 that Sergio Pérez would not race for Red Bull in 2025, the news shocked no one. While the first five races of 2024 seemed to suggest that Pérez had solved the issues that had plagued him last year, he would end the season eighth in the drivers’ standings with only four podiums, no wins, and 285 points behind his world championship-winning teammate Max Verstappen. To add insult to injury, over the last eight races of the year, Pérez only scored nine points, which contributed to Red Bull falling to third in the constructors championship behind McLaren and Ferrari, respectively.
Naturally, the question became who would replace Pérez? The decision fell to the two Visa CashApp RB (VCARB) drivers: Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. On 19 December 2025, the news broke that Lawson had been chosen to aid Verstappen in his 2025 title defense and Red Bull’s charge to retake the constructors crown.
It was here that Red Bull lost the plot and the fans were sure to make it known.
On paper, Lawson is a worthy candidate. His raw speed and adaptability carried him to 3rd in the 2022 F2 Championship and to the runners-up spot in the highly competitive Super Formula Championship the following year. He was equally impressive in F1 machinery. With hardly any running under his belt, Lawson replaced an injured Daniel Ricciardo for five races in 2023, and was immediately competitive. Highlights included finishing 13th at a rain-soaked Dutch Grand Prix and a 9th-place around the tricky streets of Singapore in just his third race. Those performances made him the priority call-up when Ricciardo was dropped in 2024, giving Lawson six races to prove his worth to Red Bull. While Lawson’s second F1 stint was not as impressive, the Red Bull junior showed flashes of brilliance. His first race in Texas saw Lawson convert a back of the grid start to 9th, and in a torrential São Paulo, Lawson qualified fifth and managed to finish the race ninth ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Pérez. These achievements were enough to convince Red Bull team principal Christian Horner that Lawson had a higher theoretical potential that, once nurtured, could form a formidable driver pairing alongside Verstappen.
Yet, by promoting a driver with little F1 experience, Red Bull risks repeating past mistakes.Since 2019, Verstappen has had three different teammates: Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Sergio Pérez. While Gasly impressed in his first full season in 2018, it was a tall order to ask a driver heading into his sophomore year to compete against the generational talent that is Max Verstappen. That pressure reflected in Gasly’s subpar performance relative to Verstappen, and Red Bull decided to make the ruthless decision to swap Gasly out for Albon midway through 2019. The only problem: Albon had only competed in twelve races, making him less experienced than Gasly was. As a result, Albon not only performed similarly to Gasly for the remainder of 2019, but the Thai driver had a woeful 2020 campaign, finishing 109 points behind Verstappen in the drivers standings. Worse yet was that Gasly was thriving at Toro Rosso (now called AlphaTauri), highlighted by a win at the chaotic 2020 Italian Grand Prix, while Albon finished in 15th. These factors contributed to Red Bull looking outside their driver pool, replacing Albon with Pérez for 2021, following the Mexican driver’s stellar 2020 season.
Gasly and Albon both risked irreparable damage to their F1 careers because Red Bull were too quick to promote them. While the team’s sink or swim environment has fostered generational talent such as Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen, it is naive to assume that the same methodology will work for all their young drivers. Now, Red Bull seem to have digressed back to old habits by signing a driver who has had less race starts than Albon did when he raced for them, leaving Lawson just as vulnerable as his predecessors.
Red Bull could argue they have no choice but to go for youth. Heading into 2025, all of Red Bull’s immediate rivals have invested in young drivers. Mercedes have George Russell and 18 year-old prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while Ferrari have Charles Leclerc and McLaren have a championship-winning lineup in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. With Verstappen entering his late twenties, and with the ever-present threat of an early retirement when his contract expires in 2028, Red Bull need to find a new superstar who can adopt Verstappen’s mantle.
However, Red Bull has a driver who has both youth and experience: Yuki Tsunoda. At 24 years of age, Tsunoda will be entering his fifth season of F1 and has grown into a consistent driver since his shaky rookie season. In 2024, Tsunoda finished 12th in the driver standings, scoring 30 of VCARB’s 46 points, and has had the measure over Ricciardo and Lawson in both qualifying and the races. That impressive form is why Red Bull decided to activate a contract option to lock Tsunoda in for the 2025 season at VCARB. Additionally, Tsunoda has displayed a grasp of the tricky Red Bull car, whose sensitive handling characteristics have been one of the main factors behind Gasly, Albon and Pèrez’s struggles. Having driven last season’s RB20 at a post-season test, Tsunoda claimed he easily adapted to the car and that it suited his driving style. Additionally, Red Bull personnel were impressed with Tsunoda’s technical feedback during the test, silencing any doubts of whether Tsunoda would be able to push the team forward.
One legitimate concern Red Bull might have had was Tsunoda’s short temper. While Tsunoda’s angry radio messages have made him a fan favourite, some see his reactions as a sign of immaturity. One only needs to look to this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, where a controversial team order forced Tsunoda to cede position to his teammate Ricciardo, ruining his chance for a points finish. The Japanese driver made sure to make his frustration well known by dive bombing Ricciardo on the cool-down lap, a move that could have damaged both cars. Yet Tsunoda’s temper has become less of a problem over the years and fiery tempers are not uncommon in the high-adrenaline world of sports. Drivers just have the misfortune that their radio messages can be played on the broadcast at any time. Lawson himself has gotten a bit fiery with drivers, such as Fernando Alonso and Pérez in Austin and Mexico, respectively, after some questionable on-track moves. Temper should not have contributed to Tsunoda missing out on the promotion.
So why has Red Bull refused to promote Tsunoda? Unfortunately, the answer probably lies in off-track politics. In addition to being part of Red Bull’s talent pool, Tsunoda is supported by Honda, who has been supplying Red Bull with their engines since 2019. However, with Red Bull producing their own engines for the 2026 regulations in partnership with Ford, Red Bull no longer have any obligation to Honda to promote their driver.
But if a promotion was never on the cards, why did Red Bull exercise the option in Tsunoda’spre-existing contract? There were reports that teams like Haas and Sauber were interested insigning Tsunoda as early as May 2024, a month before his extension was announced. By signing Tsunoda, Red Bull essentially prevented him from pursuing more beneficial offers for his career. Horner claims that Tsunoda could replace Lawson if the latter fails to perform, yet he contradicts himself when he claims that Tsunoda has overspent his time at the junior team. If that was the case, why sign him? By stringing Tsunoda along with the faint hope of a competitive seat, Red Bull gave themselves the luxury of options should Pérez underperform, giving Tsunoda nothing but empty promises. Now the best hope Tsunoda has at a better seat is to repeat what he has done over the past two seasons: decimate his new teammate Isack Hadjar and hopefully find a team that wants him.
It remains to be seen whether Red Bull has made the right decision regarding its second driver. While Lawson is not expected to consistently beat Verstappen, he must be closer than the Dutchman’s previous teammates have been. However, the odds are not in Lawson’s favour, and Red Bull might find themselves once again having to explain why they chose to go down the wrong road, when a safer option existed. What a load of bull.