Yuki Tsunoda will make his Red Bull debut in the Japanese Grand Prix, after the Milton Keynes outfit elected to swap Liam Lawson after a poor start to the season.
Lawson had run just two races before Red Bull decided to make the swap, with the 23-year-old struggling to make it out of Q1 on both occasions and crashing on his debut in Melbourne.
It was clear that Lawson did not have the experience to help Red Bull improve their difficult to drive RB21, despite giving him the backing over the winter break as the right man to replace Sergio Perez.
Perez was paid millions to settle his 2025 contract, having signed an extension midway through 2024. But after a spate of poor results and costing them the Constructors’ Championship, it became clear that his position became untenable.
Now Red Bull is in the awkward situation of having to backtrack on its original decision, having potentially lost out on millions by getting rid of Perez early. According to journalist Nate Saunders on the ESPN Unlapped podcast, there is one upside to the early switch with Tsunoda.
Yuki Tsunoda switch enables Red Bull to pay off Sergio Perez debt
Tsunoda has been backed by Red Bull power unit partner Honda since he joined the grid in 2021, having been part of their ‘Formula Dream’ programme.
Honda is reportedly doubling its payment to Red Bull to have Tsunoda in the car until the end of the season, while also offering them other financial incentives.
“We understand that Honda has knocked a bit of money off of Red Bull’s final engine payment, which is never a bad thing,” said Saunders.
“Especially when you’ve paid a lot of money to Sergio Perez to give up that seat, it’s a bit of a hole in the finances of Red Bull.”
- READ MORE: What Red Bull’s owner ‘privately’ said about Liam Lawson in meeting before Yuki Tsunoda swap
Will Yuki Tsunoda offer any improvement to Sergio Perez?
Tsunoda brings a wealth of experience into Red Bull at a time they need it most, having got themselves into a car development headache.
Red Bull as pursued peak aerodynamic performance over drivability with the RB21, which is partially where Lawson struggled.
Lawson also did not have enough time in pre-season testing, nor did Red Bull put him in any of their previous cars utilising the Testing of Previous Cars running like other teams such as Mercedes with Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Tsunoda will likely not be challenging for victories straight away, but he should offer an improvement on Lawson’s form by qualifying higher and achieving Red Bull’s targets of staying within three-tenths of Verstappen.
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