Liam Lawson leaves Suzuka and the Japanese Grand Prix with a bitter taste after Yuki Tsunoda debuts with a solid but unspectacular finish.
“Qualifying dictated 90% of those finishing positions today,” Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said of Tsunoda’s race on the F1TV Post-Race Show. “I think he’s learned a lot out of this weekend. He’s given great feedback. He’s fit into the team and his time will come.”
Red Bull’s advisor and mouthpiece Helmut Marko encouraged the swap of promoting Tsunoda to the Red Bull team and dropping Lawson to the Racing Bulls, with some pundits questioning the early-season move. His position played out well at the Japanese Grand Prix. Tsunoda crossed the line in 12th, while Lawson could eke out only a 17th-place finish.
“He lost out by qualifying, he made a mistake in turn 1,” Marko said of Tsunoda’s weekend. “But in all the other sessions he was pretty near two-to-three-tenths to Max, so that’s what we’re looking for.
Leaving aside Marko’s usual rants and the recognition that even a broken clock is right two times a day, the truth is Tsunoda did an incredible job driving an unfamiliar car, which others have deemed untamable unless you are named Max Verstappen. Tsunoda did his level best, having precious little time to adapt.
During Free Practice, both Tsunoda and Lawson focused on getting acclimated to their new drives, where the New Zealander made sure to acknowledge the notable differences in handling of the Racing Bulls car.
The qualifying session did not quite provide a knock-out punch for either driver. As qualifying unfolded, Lawson stepped ahead of his replacement at Red Bull during Q2, qualifying 14th and .94s ahead of Tsunoda, who could do no better than 15th with a 1:28.000.
When the race started, the tables turned on the first lap when Tsunoda made an incredible overtake on Lawson in the middle of the Spoon Curve at turns 13 and 14.
The race that unfolded afterward was technical and relatively uneventful, but it required precision from the teams to get the strategy right. Such was the case for the Red Bull team, who managed to get Tsunoda to a respectable 12th position by the end of the race. This would be five positions above Lawson, who finished 17th as he struggled to find pace throughout the race.
If nothing else, Tsunoda’s uneventful march to 12th earned him Driver of the Day honors.
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— Formula 1 (@F1) April 6, 2025
It's Yuki Tsunoda who is @salesforce Driver of the Day at the Japanese Grand Prix 🇯🇵#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/vjjFCDeQb4
Has Red Bull made the right call? Time will tell as always, but they seem to have a great new driver in their second car, one who has gone far and beyond to get the seat of his dreams.
