Christian Horner pinpoints the key reason Red Bull chose Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda for 2025

It has officially been confirmed that Liam Lawson will be racing with Red Bull for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The Kiwi driver will be replacing Sergio Perez as he departs Red Bull after four seasons with the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Perez had been facing pressure from the team to keep his seat after a dismal run of form in 2024. Red Bull offered him a contract until the end of 2025 in the hopes that would improve his fortunes, but things only got worse as he suffered his worst season with the team.

The Mexican finished 285 points behind teammate Max Verstappen – who won his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship – having only scored 49 points in the final 18 Grand Prix.

Speculation had been rife as to whether Perez would be axed by Red Bull come the end of 2024 – with confirmation of his departure coming on Wednesday. Verstappen sent a message to Perez wishing him well for the future and stating it was a privilege to share the Red Bull garage with him.

Come the 2025 season, the Dutchman will have his fifth different teammate since 2018 as Lawson prepares for his first full season in F1.

Christian Horner says Liam Lawson demonstrated ‘the right mindset’ to step into Red Bull in 2025

When rumours started to swirl about Perez’s future with Red Bull, it was clear that the Visa Cash App RB drivers – Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda – were the frontrunners to take his seat.

Tsunoda has been well-established with the Faenza-based outfit since 2021 and outperformed Daniel Ricciardo in 2024 until the Aussie’s dismissal at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Japanese driver even got the better of Lawson in the head-to-head battle, outqualifying him in all six of his Grand Prix appearances and beating him in the races 4-2.

However, it was the Kiwi driver who landed the seat next to Verstappen. Speaking with ESPN Unlapped, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it was a ‘tough decision’ to choose between the two drivers, but stated that Lawson had demonstrated ‘the right mindset’ in a short space of time.

“I think it’s something that Red Bull’s always taken pride in, is investing in young drivers, giving them the opportunity, grooming them through the Racing Bulls team,” said Horner.

“Liam got his opportunity and I think that he’s demonstrated to us in a limited space of time that he’s got the right skill set, the right mindset to be able to cope stepping into a Red Bull Racing seat alongside Max Verstappen for 2025.

“It was a tough decision in the end, I mean Yuki as well, a very talented driver who’s done a good job testing for us only recently.

“But in the end when we looked at all the factors involved, we felt that Liam was the preferable candidate to put alongside Max in the 2025 season.”

Is Liam Lawson ready to make the step to Red Bull?

There have been many questions over why Tsunoda was snubbed of the second Red Bull seat. Tiff Needell thinks Tsunoda should have been promoted given the experience he has in F1 compared to Lawson.

But despite being beaten by the Japanese driver in qualifying and in the races in 2024, Lawson has shown his potential with his speed over one lap and his aggressive approach during battles in the Grand Prix.

At just 22 and having made only 11 appearances in F1 so far, it is a risky move for Red Bull to make. Helmut Marko says Lawson must prove he can ‘race again’ ahead of his move to the Milton Keynes-based outfit, which he will need to do going up against Verstappen.

The Kiwi driver faces the pressure of ending up being dropped by Red Bull after 2025 – much like his predecessors – but the team will be hoping that Lawson will be an improvement on the disastrous season Perez displayed in 2024.