Lewis Hamilton condemned Red Bull over Liam Lawson, but he once told Christian Horner to axe driver mid-season

Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the F1 grid were asked for their thoughts on Red Bull’s driver swap during media day at the Japanese Grand Prix. Yuki Tsunoda has been promoted at the expense of Liam Lawson after just two races.

Hamilton was critical of the decision, but he suggested it was in keeping with Red Bull’s character. Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat have previously been dropped in similar fashion to Lawson.

“I’m not surprised to see them move that early, no,” he said, via Autosport. “They’re both great drivers. I think we’ve got a lot of really great drivers here, particularly young, talented drivers.

“I think there’s naturally a lot of pressure on youngsters coming in and I think there’s no way you can get fully on top of a car which is known to be not the easiest car to drive. Just to get in two races was pretty tough.”

It’s known that Max Verstappen was also against Lawson’s demotion. He views the second driver debate as a sideshow and would prefer Red Bull to focus on their car’s long-standing handling problems instead.

Verstappen passed up the opportunity to criticise his team on Thursday. But he stands by liking an Instagram post from former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde that accused the team of ‘bullying’ Lawson.

Lewis Hamilton allegedly told Christian Horner to drop Pierre Gasly for Alex Albon

Hamilton joined F1 in 2007, just two years after Red Bull’s debut. He’s clearly well-versed in their ruthless philosophy.

But the British driver may have played a role in himself in one driver being dropped. Speaking to Sport1 in 2020, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko alleged that Hamilton had spoken to Christian Horner about Gasly’s struggles.

He apparently suggested that Alex Albon, then a Toro Rosso driver, should replace Gasly. The Frenchman lost his seat during the summer break after Verstappen outscored him by 181 points to 63 in the first 12 races.

“The truth is: Lewis did not call in 2019 but he approached our team boss Christian Horner in the plane and recommended to put Albon instead of Pierre Gasly in the car,” Marko said.

“I have no idea why Hamilton always feels compelled to interfere, but it doesn’t matter to us what opinion people from outside have.”

Every F1 driver was in agreement over Liam Lawson at Japanese Grand Prix

If Marko is to be believed, then Hamilton’s comments on Thursday come across as somewhat hypocritical. Still, the Lawson case remains extreme.

Red Bull were deeply concerned by Lawson’s body language in China, surmising that he’d lost all his confidence. A string of drivers have psychologically unravelled alongside Verstappen.

Ted Kravitz says every F1 driver felt sorry for Lawson based on their Thursday remarks. Naturally, Gasly and Albon were particularly sympathetic.

While he’s been given until the end of the season, Red Bull don’t see Tsunoda as the long-term answer. Unless he drastically exceeds expectations, the cycle could continue at Milton Keynes.