Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has commented on the ongoing discussions surrounding Red Bull, its sister team Racing Bulls, and Liam Lawson, describing the situation as “destabilising.”
After a difficult Chinese Grand Prix where Lawson qualified P20 and, after struggling with the RB21 for the third race this season (including the sprint race), finishing out of the points, speculation has run rampant of his move to Racing Bulls. It’s fair to say that the optimism he had at the beginning of the season has run out, and now the struggle has set in.
Yuki Tsunoda on the other hand, is putting in the performance of his life at the sister team. And with him not hiding the fact he wants a seat at the head table, Lawson is under immense pressure. But with the RB21 being such a handful, even for the talented Max Verstappen, who’s to say Tsunoda would find the task any easier?
Schumacher is aware of this, and like many others, has warned the Japanese driver of moving away from a team that is currently performing well, and with a car that is easier to drive than that of the Milton Keynes machine.
The brother of Michael Schumacher believes the driver swap is coming, despite the team continuing to avoid commenting on this, but doesn’t believe it’s the right thing for the organisation to be doing.
“Incredibly bad from a management perspective,” he told Sky Sports Germany. “They’re destabilising the good Racing Bulls team, who are finally doing well with both drivers, and they’re burning out Tsunoda, who is better but has no chance against Max.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
“Lawson is going back to the Racing Bulls and is supposed to rebuild there. This is pure chaos at Red Bull. Not only is the main team too slow, but the fact that they’re now also swapping drivers—I find this charade unbelievable.”
After a troubling start to the season, the energy drink team is back to the headquarters for an emergency meeting. Advisor Helmut Marko has told Motorsport.com that there will be a meeting this week to discuss the car’s weaknesses, but this can’t be the only conversation the team will be having.
