One of the most brutal driver decisions has just been made after Red Bull Racing confirmed that they would be changing their line-up for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Liam Lawson has been dropped after just two races alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
Lawson’s Red Bull exit was sped up after a disappointing outing at the Chinese Grand Prix, with Yuki Tsunoda promoted in his place.
However, to pin the blame solely on the 23-year-old would be incredibly harsh.
Verstappen has criticised this year’s Red Bull car, suggesting that Lawson would be faster in the sister Racing Bulls machine as a result.
That’s now going to be put to the test, but questions will be asked of Red Bull’s senior management for promoting Lawson in the first place, given his lack of F1 experience.
Lawson voiced his concerns over the team radio in Shanghai about the balance of the RB21, and Tsunoda isn’t exactly experienced when it comes to driving for Red Bull, having only been given his first proper run with the team during the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
Ralf Schumacher believes that the issues at Red Bull are so deep-rooted that even seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton wouldn’t stand a chance alongside Verstappen this season.
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Lewis Hamilton told he would have ‘no chance’ against Max Verstappen at Red Bull
Schumacher was speaking on the Backstage Boxengasse Podcast and was asked why Red Bull can’t simply build two cars, one that suits Verstappen and one that suits his teammate.
He replied: “That’s a question of concept and I think Christian Horner explained it quite well in the interview after the race and also before the race.
“It was explained that the whole team has obviously been working with Max Verstappen for years, and he simply needs a car that steers in.
“Accordingly, the whole thing was worked on that way. That was nothing atypical.
“I know Newey did it completely differently for Sebastian Vettel, for example, who needs a more stable rear end.
| Lewis Hamilton | Max Verstappen | |
| Grand Prix starts | 358 | 211 |
| Pole positions | 104 | 40 |
| Wins | 105 | 63 |
| Podiums | 202 | 113 |
| Points | 4871.5 | 3059.5 |
| Championships | 7 | 4 |
“That’s exactly how it is now for Max Verstappen. If, for example, Lewis Hamilton or someone like that were sitting next to him, who also needs a quieter car, he would also have no chance.
“You can’t do that just because of the whole aerodynamic working window, the car would completely fall out of it if you set up the car like that.
“Let’s say you go up at the front and down a bit at the back so that you basically generate a bit more understeer, then you take so much away from their aerodynamic sweet spot that you are simply too slow and suffer as a result.”
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Why Max Verstappen thinks being teammates with Lewis Hamilton would be a bad idea
The thought of Verstappen racing alongside Hamilton for any team sounds absolutely thrilling.
Daniel Ricciardo posed the biggest challenge to the Dutchman at Red Bull, although Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon are much better prepared to race for a top team now than they were when Christian Horner initially promoted them.
Verstappen has previously explained why being teammates with Hamilton would be a bad idea, although given the Brit is now 40 and only just beginning life at Ferrari, it sounds like it’s never going to happen.
Hamilton and Verstappen require something very different when it comes to the setup of their cars and so neither is likely to thrive in the other’s shoes.
However, the true test of how fast a racing driver can be is to test them when they’re not performing in their optimum conditions.
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