Yuki Tsunoda was one of the stand-out performances in Australia, qualifying in a fantastic 5th for VCARB. The Japanese driver was in contention for a top 6 finish on race day, only for a strategic blunder at VCARB’s pit-wall to cost him.
However, Tsunoda’s strong performance did not go unnoticed – especially as former teammate Liam Lawson spent most of his weekend at the back of the field.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has wasted no time in raising questions about Red Bull’s driver pairing.
Yuki Tsunoda validated, Brown joins Red Bull criticism
Since Daniel Ricciardo’s departure in 2018, Red Bull have failed to put someone able to compete against Max Verstappen in their second seat.
Verstappen outscored Sergio Perez by over 500 points across 2023 and 2024, evidence of the desperate need for a change.
The general consensus last year was that Tsunoda deserved an opportunity at the Milton Keynes squad.
Having outperformed De Vries, Ricciardo and Lawson in successive seasons, the Japanese driver did everything within his power to demonstrate his abilities.
In many ways (having largely matched Pierre Gasly in 2022) Red Bull’s surprise that Tsunoda outperformed De Vries was an early example of the Austrian team’s failure to correctly recognise his speed.
Liam Lawson struggled massively in round one, both in terms of pace and consistency.
Although wet conditions made things difficult on Sunday, this does not excuse the Kiwi driver’s failure to compete for points.
Zak Brown seems to share this perspective, with the McLaren CEO questioning Red Bull’s driver selection:
“I think it’s going to be a very exciting year,” he told Sky Sports.
“Yuki did a great job, probably the guy who should be in the Red Bull – if you look at how he’s performed.
“But they {Red Bull] seem to make some strange driver choices from time to time.”
Tsunoda picks up where he left off
Frankly, there is little evidence to suggest that Red Bull will consider Yuki Tsunoda for a promotion.
Whilst his performance in Australia is excellent, the 24-year-old has driven at a high level for years – and it still failed to change his perception at Milton Keynes.
Having made so many errors with driver selection, Red Bull are likely to have Lawson plenty of time to deliver results.
This is something LWOS anticipated in previous articles, where we concluded that Lawson can expect a significant grace period in 2025.
In any case, Tsunoda’s objectives and approach will continue as normal. VCARB look to have a competitive car this year, which should plenty of chances for strong results – especially in qualifying.
VCARB team principal Laurent Mekies praised his lead driver after his efforts in Melbourne:
“As for the race, Yuki was performing very strongly until the rain returned. There is nowhere to hide, we got our last call wrong, and it cost us very dearly today.
“For this we apologise to Yuki. The gamble to keep him out didn’t pay off but it’s part of the harshness of motorsport.
“There is only one way to improve, by working harder together as a team and to come back stronger.”
