Liam Lawson is expected to leave Red Bull after two races but Christian Danner thinks the team have a ‘bigger problem’ with Max Verstappen than the Kiwi’s lack of results.
Red Bull are a notoriously ruthless outfit, having seldom been afraid to release a driver they think is failing to meet expectations. Pierre Gasly was booted back to their junior team after 12 outings and Alex Albon was axed after 26 Grands Prix, and now Lawson seems to be next.
Lawson has only contested two races for Red Bull yet Yuki Tsunoda is now expected to step up from Racing Bulls at his home race the Japanese Grand Prix. Honda has helped Tsunoda join Red Bull, too, just months after they rejected him to hand Sergio Perez’s seat to Lawson.
Another change in line-up is already on the table after Lawson crashed on his Red Bull debut at the Australian Grand Prix whilst on slick tyres in the rain. The 23-year-old was also slowest across both qualifying sessions at the Chinese Grand Prix and failed to cut through the order.
Max Verstappen’s slim chances to win is Red Bull’s ‘biggest problem’ over Liam Lawson
Now, Tsunoda is in line for his big chance driving with the main Red Bull team after 92 Grand Prix entries and 89 starts for their junior team, now called Racing Bulls. But Danner believes Verstappen’s struggles to win races is a bigger issue for Red Bull than Lawson’s early woe.
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Danner thinks Verstappen is not ‘strong enough’ to win Grands Prix this term with Red Bull’s 2025 F1 car proving to be a tricky machine to master. The 27-year-old took advantage of the mixed conditions in Melbourne to seal second place but had to settle for fourth in Shanghai.
“Red Bull have a double problem,” Danner has told Motorsport-Magazin. ‘Max isn’t strong enough to win races at the front. That’s the biggest problem at first. However, things are also getting very difficult at the back.
“They thought Sergio Perez had forgotten how to do it, so they replaced him with a young gun. And what’s the matter? Lawson’s results are even worse. You have to take a closer look. What’s really happening?”
Yuki Tsunoda must master Max Verstappen’s set-up to save Red Bull’s title hopes
It will concern Red Bull if Verstappen is not in a strong enough position to win Grands Prix in 2025 given the team is built around the Dutchman and his title hopes. It is even partly down to Red Bull being built around Verstappen that drivers like Lawson have struggled as his No2.
Verstappen’s demands for Red Bull’s car can make life hard for whichever driver sits beside him. The four-time defending champion prefers a strong front end that he can attack corners with, which his teammates – now including Lawson – have to date failed to get to grips with.
Tsunoda will hope he can handle Verstappen’s ideal set-up more than Lawson if or when the 24-year-old steps up from Racing Bulls. If not, Red Bull will be in the same situation of being a one-car team in the F1 constructors’ championship fight, as well as Verstappen’s title bid.
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