After the Chinese Grand Prix, speculations ran rampant about whether Liam Lawson would replace Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull. While many people believed that two races were too few to see a driver’s abilities, the team was not eager to sit and wait for him to find his pace. On March 27th, Red Bull officially swapped its drivers. This made Tsunoda Max Verstappen’s teammate, while Lawson was demoted to the junior team, Racing Bulls.
Many people believe that the quick decision was, at least partially, influenced by the Japanese Grand Prix being the next one on the race calendar. Tsunoda, the only Japanese driver on the grid, is beloved in his home country. Having him behind the wheel of the Red Bull is a huge PR boost for the team. This, together with the return of the iconic “white bull” livery, ensures that all the eyes will be on the team.
If the next Grand Prix were held anywhere else in the world, would Tsunoda have been promoted? There is no definite answer to that question, but many signs point to that not being the case. Even in a team known for having little patience for their drivers, giving someone only two races to prove their skills is excessive. What likely happened, was that the team saw Lawson was struggling and decided to look for the best strategical time to demote him. By promoting Tsunoda before the Japanese Grand Prix, they ensure that something good will come out of the swap. Whether he does well or not, they will still take full advantage of the publicity he will bring.
But what will happen if Tsunoda doesn’t perform? It seems that Red Bull is running out of drivers to put behind the wheel of their tricky car. There are still many junior drivers hoping to get their shot, but at what point will the team have to admit that the problem is in the car itself?
Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s advisor, claims that Tsunoda will stay in the car until the end of the season. When asked about why Tsunoda wasn’t put in the car since the beginning of the season, he mentioned the driver’s inconsistency. “Tsunoda is a fast driver, we know that, but he’s had his ups and downs,” he said. Then he added that the driver had undergone a transformation and had therefore become the best option for the coveted seat.
There is a lot of talk about the fate of the second Red Bull driver, but what about the first? The team is on somewhat of a decline. Even though Verstappen still manages to achieve good results, they are nowhere near their form from 2022 or 2023. On top of that, there seems to be a lot of tension within the team itself. With the controversies surrounding Christian Horner and Verstappen’s supposed disagreement with the driver swap, the atmosphere within Red Bull seems to thicken every weekend.
Last summer, there were a lot of rumors regarding Verstappen’s future. Many linked him with one of the Mercedes seats, given how open Toto Wolff has been about wanting to sign him. The gossip was put to rest after he decided to stay with his team but saw a resurgence now that he has shown his disapproval of Red Bull’s actions. Mercedes’ power unit for the new regulations is said to be one of, if not the best. With that in mind, the conversation between Verstappen and Wolff may reopen sooner than anyone could have predicted.
Red Bull has never shied away from controversy and they are not about to start now. Tensions are brewing on both sides of the garage and they only seem to get stronger with every passing week. Are we witnessing the team’s fall from grace, or just a few speedbumps on their road to ultimate success?
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