Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has shed light on the decision to promote Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda to Red Bull Racing for the 2025 F1 season.
The Kiwi was confirmed on Thursday as Max Verstappen's teammate in the Milton Keynes-based outfit, even though Tsunoda had performed better than Lawson in their qualifying and race day head-to-heads over the final six races of 2024.
In an interview with German website F1-Insider , Marko singled out Lawson's potential for growth and mental fortitude as key assets that played in favor of the 22-year-old charger.
“The engineers presented comparative figures, which we used as the basis for the decision,” the Austrian explained.
“In principle it was a luxury problem, both would have deserved the promotion. But Lawson may have more room for improvement in the future.
“It was his mental strength in particular that tipped the scales at the end.”
Christian Horner echoed this sentiment, highlighting Lawson's competitive pace despite limited experience.
“With Liam, when you look and go into the analytics of his race, pace was slightly better [than Tsunoda] in the races that he did,” Horner explained.
“His qualifying pace was very tight with Yuki, and you've got to assume that the potential with Liam, having only done 11 Grands Prix, is he's only going to get better and stronger.”
While certainly disappointed with the outcome of Red Bull's decision, Tsunoda reacted to the news with characteristic composure, according to Marko.
“He's in Japan at the moment, and I spoke to him on the phone,” he said. “He was relatively relaxed about the news. I told him that he should continue to step on the gas with the Racing Bulls, and then we'll see. I have reacted positively.”
Tsunoda is set to enter his fifth season with RB, a longevity that is no longer really aligned with the typical shelf life of a Red Bull junior, as Horner acknowledged.
“We're acutely aware that if we're not able to provide an opportunity for Yuki – being, in all honesty, this year [2025] – does it make sense [to keep him]?” Horner questioned.
“You can't have a driver in the support team for five years. You can't always be the bridesmaid. “You've either got to let them go at that point or look at something different.”
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