Red Bull has announced that Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson in the second seat for the remainder of the season. The Austrian outfit made the ruthless decision that demoted Liam Lawson back to Racing Bulls after just 2 races.
The pair were teammates in F1 when Lawson was asked to step in over the last two seasons. However, their rivalry dates back to when they were racing in junior formulas. But who had the upper hand? We delve into their history to find out who the quicker driver was.
Did Liam Lawson have the upper hand on Yuki Tsunoda in the junior formulas?
Following the Chinese GP, rumours started to swirl over Lawson’s Red Bull future, the Kiwi snapped back. He claimed he was faster than Tsunoda before the pair hit the big league of F1.
He said: “I’ve raced him for years, raced him in the junior categories and beat him. If I look back over our careers, I was teammates with him in F3 and I beat him. In Euroformula I was team mates with him and I beat him there.”
Tsunoda had the edge over Lawson during the 2019 F3 championship, where the Japanese driver finished in P9, two places above Lawson and 25 points more. However, in equal machinery in the 2019 Euroformula Championship, Lawson beat his teammate as he finished runner-up in the standings.
The following season, the pair clashed again, this time at the Toyota Racing Series, where the duo would again be teammates. Lawson again finished runner-up with five wins, while Yuki came fourth in the standings with only a solitary win to his name. However, they wouldn’t continue their battle in the F3 series as Yuki stepped up into F2.
The stats are in Liam’s favour, as he had the overall beating of Tsunoda. Yuki had Honda on his side, who gave him support and finances as he quickly climbed the ladder to F2 and F1. This gave him an experience advantage, and the man from Japan has also shown he is worthy of his seat in F1.
Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda close in F1
During the 2023 season, Liam Lawson would make an impressive cameo for the injured Daniel Ricciardo. He would compete in five races alongside Yuki Tsunoda in the Alpha Tauri. The team was at the back of the grid, with Tsunoda only picking up three points before Lawson stepped into the car.
Lawson impressed during his cameo and scored two points. However, his record against Tsuonda was inflated. Yuki failed to start the Italian GP and had many technical issues during those five races. The following season gave a better indication of both of their relative pace.
Christian Horner Justifies “Sporting Decision” as Yuki Tsunoda Takes Liam Lawson’s Seat at Red Bull
The 2024 season saw Tsunoda take part in his fourth season. His teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, failed to deliver, and with six races remaining, he was chopped from the team. Liam Lawson made his second cameo appearance, and he was close to Tsunoda’s pace. This was impressive, considering the experience gap.
In those six races, Lawson scored 4 points, while Tsunoda picked up 8 points. However, Tsunoda had the upper hand during qualifying, beating the Kiwi 6-0 in the head-to-head. The gap between the two was small, however. This led Red Bull to promote Lawson ahead of Yuki, believing the New Zealander had a higher ceiling. They have now decided that experience is the way to go with the tricky-to-handle RB21.
