Franz Tost says Racing Bulls have just done something that should be against their ‘DNA’

Red Bull shocked the Formula 1 paddock when they decided to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda after just two races.

Lawson had failed to progress any higher than Q1 and finished outside of the points on both occasions, while his lap times were often a second adrift of Max Verstappen.

It became an untenable situation for Red Bull, with the team justifying the eventual swap by focusing on their ambitions to win the Constructors’ Championship.

Tsunoda has been a step up since joining the team from the Japanese GP, but he has been far from a regular podium contender.

The RB21 is a tough car to drive and it will take him a few rounds to extract the most performance from it, with Tsunoda recently participating in a test at Silverstone in an older car to help his development.

Former Racing Bulls team boss Franz Tost thinks the team went against their mantra of enabling drivers to develop by swapping Tsunoda with Lawson mid-season, and has explained why he thinks it should not be part of the team’s ‘DNA’ going forward when speaking to the Inside Line F1 podcast.

• READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Franz Tost thinks mid-season driver changes are not in ‘DNA’ of Racing Bulls and Red Bull

Red Bull is known for being tough on its drivers, with Helmut Marko having a history of ruthlessly cutting short drivers careers if they don’t perform.

The team had to cut ties with Daniel Ricciardo at the end of 2024 to prepare Lawson, a decision that was not met well with F1 fans.

Tost, who ran the junior team for 18 years and helped develop a lot of successful drivers careers who came through the Red Bull stable, believes the team should not make such big changes at pivotal moments in the season and instead focus on developing drivers.

“It should not be in the DNA of the Racing Bulls to change the drivers during the year. The change of drivers during the year is a very, very big challenge. Why? Because the driver has to get used to the car, get used to the team, and all these components together make it really difficult,” said Tost.

“Normally you prepare the driver in January with a private test, to be in Imola for a few days, so they get the feeling back for the car, for the brakes, everything. When you change a driver during the year, it’s really difficult and for both teams for Racing Bulls and Red Bull it’s a challenge to get everything under one roof in the shortest possible time frame.”

Liam Lawson focusing on regaining confidence at Racing Bulls

The two races that Lawson did at Red Bull impacted his confidence massively, largely because he could not match Verstappen.

Lawson is the only Red Bull driver on the grid who has not scored points yet, with both Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar both on five points each.

Hadjar has impressed the paddock with how well he has adapted to F1, while also bouncing back from crashing out on the formation lap during the season opener.

Verstappen disagreed with Lawson’s demotion, instead wanting Red Bull to focus on making an easier car to drive.

Lawson will be hopeful that he rediscover his form while at Racing Bulls, while Tsunoda will be tasked with bringing his experience to the team to help improve their fortunes.