Red Bull’s decision to swap Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda will not fix the “double problem” posed by Max Verstappen being the only driver capable of getting a tune out of the RB21.

That is the claim of former F1 driver Christian Danner, who has called for Red Bull to “change the car” rather than keep rotating drivers.

Yuki Tsunoda replaces Liam Lawson at Red Bull for Japanese GP

Red Bull announced on Thursday that Tsunoda will become Verstappen’s new team-mate from next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, with Lawson demoted to the Racing Bulls junior team after just two races of the F1 2025 season.

Lawson was signed by Red Bull as the replacement for Sergio Perez last December with the Mexican vacating his seat after a punishing 2024 season.

It was hoped that Lawson would act as a consistent points scorer to support Verstappen in his quest for a fifth consecutive World Championship as well as helping Red Bull regain the Constructors’ title.

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Yet with Lawson visibly struggling with the Red Bull RB21 compared to Verstappen, qualifying last for both the sprint and main race at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, the team have opted to replace the New Zealander with Tsunoda.

The move sees Lawson follow in the footsteps of Daniil Kvyat and current Alpine racer Pierre Gasly, who were both demoted to Red Bull’s junior team after struggling with the step up to the senior outfit.

Verstappen has held a significant advantage over his team-mates since Daniel Ricciardo left the team at the end of 2018 with Gasly, Perez, Lawson and Alex Albon all struggling to varying degrees.

Verstappen’s dominance has been likened by some to Michael Schumacher’s impact at Benetton in the mid-1990s, when the German’s team-mates and successors – including Verstappen’s father Jos, Martin Brundle, Johnny Herbert and Gerhard Berger – were all unable to extract the same performance from the car as the F1 legend.

Speaking to AvD Motorsport Magazine, Danner, who made 36 F1 starts in the 1980s, claimed that Red Bull’s latest driver swap will not solve the fundamental issue of Verstappen being the only one to enjoy success with the car.

And he believes the team face a dilemma of allowing the situation to continue or to create a “bit more rounded” car to elevate the performance level of Verstappen’s team-mate.

He said: “Red Bull has a double problem.

“It’s not enough up front for Max to win races. That’s the biggest problem on the surface. But it’s also very difficult at the back.

“It was thought that Sergio Perez had forgotten how to drive and so he was replaced by a young savage.

“And what happened? The results that Lawson brings together are even worse. You have to look very closely. What’s really happening?

“Alexander Albon once explained Max Verstappen’s driving style very, very well in an interview.

“Albon said that he wants a car that is active and aggressive on the front axle. It was the same with Max, but a completely different universe of biting front axle.

“At the beginning you think you can drive it, but the longer you drive it, the more undriveable it becomes for people who don’t have the talent to drive a car around the track with just the front axle.

“That reminds me of what Gerhard Berger and Johnny Herbert, who drove with Michael Schumacher, told me.

“Gerhard took over Michael’s Benetton and said he got in and thought someone was trying to kill him. The car was absolutely undriveable, but Michael won the World Championship with it.

“It’s a question of driving style. It’s a philosophy that obviously only very, very, very few Formula 1 racing drivers have mastered.

“That doesn’t mean that another driver with a different style can’t drive just as fast. But what Verstappen demands from his car is undriveable for normal drivers.

“What should the team do? Listen to the top man and continue to ensure that he gets what he wants?

“Or make the whole thing a bit more rounded so that the second driver also benefits?”

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Danner went on to claim that Tsunoda himself will be “questioning” whether he “really wants to drive the Red Bull” with the Japanese star likely to face the “same problems” as Lawson.

He explained: “I don’t think it will be fundamentally different, even if you put Tsunoda in or someone else.

“I stick to my guns: it doesn’t matter who you put in the car, they will all have the same problems. I would rather change the car than keep swapping drivers.’

“The careers and also the future of young Formula 1 drivers are being played around with quite nonchalantly here. I’m sure Tsunoda is questioning whether he really wants to drive the Red Bull.

“The problem is simply that Max Verstappen needs or wants a car that his team-mates can’t drive. How the team deals with this is a fundamental decision and ultimately also an internal political problem between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.

“I would urge my technical team to design the car so that top juniors, top people can drive it.

“Verstappen drives faster than everyone else, even with a different car, I’m sure of that.

“[Lawson has] been very fast with everything he’s driven. And now all of a sudden he’s supposed to have forgotten how to do it?

“You have to take a very close look and analyse it very carefully.’

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