Now that Sergio Perez has announced his departure from Red Bull Racing effective immediately, it is between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda for the 2nd Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen.
As we all know by now, Liam Lawson was chosen to replace Daniel Ricciardo with just 6 races to go in the season. Helmut Marko had stated that the 6 races would be a shootout between Lawson and Tsunoda for a potential promotion to the Red Bull team for the 2025 season. So let’s take a look at both these drivers and see how they fared against each other in the final races of the season.
Liam Lawson Vs Yuki Tsunoda – Who came out on top?
Lawson drove his first race of the 2024 season at Austin. There were not much expectations from him during this race as he had to start from the back of the grid due to an engine penalty. However, Lawson delivered an incredible performance where he fought all the way from the back and went on to finish 9th, scoring 2 points in his season debut.
Right from then, Yuki knew that his work would be cut out as the pressure was on for the final Red Bull seat. In the final 6 races, Lawson scored a total of 4 points. Yuki on the other hand managed to score a total of 8 points. His best result in the final 6 races came at Brazil where he finished 7th, scoring 4 points.
In terms of points, Yuki is ahead of Lawson. However, that is not the only factor that Red Bull will be looking at. Considering that Tsunoda has been in the sport for 4 years now, Red Bull expects him to be much faster than Lawson, who has only raced in a total of 11 races including the 2024 season. This was not the case. Lawson’s qualifying pace and race pace were very close to Tsunoda’s in the final 6 races of the season.
However, Tsunoda does have his positives. Given that he has been in the sport for much longer than Lawson, he knows what kind of feedback the team expects. Providing valuable feedback is vital for a team like Red Bull as they need to understand the car to develop it further. Given that Red Bull are Championship contenders, feedback is that much more important for the team. During the post-season test at Abu Dhabi, the Red Bull team were impressed with Yuki’s quality of feedback on the RB20. So considering this factor, Yuki has the advantage.
What is Red Bull looking for in their 2nd driver?
Given the level Max Verstappen is at, Red Bull does not expect their 2nd driver to be as quick as Max. However, they do expect the 2nd driver to play a supportive role to Max and the team.
Back when Perez first joined Red Bull, he played this role to perfection. He played a vital role in helping Max Verstappen clinch his first world title. So whether it is Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda in the RB21, the team will require them to be fighting for the top 5 in every race.
🚨 BREAKING: Sergio Perez has left Red Bull with immediate effect
On this day 4 years ago Red Bull announced that the Mexican will sign for the team ahead of the 2021 season.
Is this the right decision by Red Bull? 👇#F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/kZDRk7dW5I
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) December 18, 2024
Given how competitive the grid is at the moment, Red Bull will need both their drivers fighting at the front in every race. When we looks at McLaren and Ferrari, they both have strong driver lineups, threatening to finish 1-2 in every race. Red Bull needs a 2nd driver like this who can support Verstappen and take the fight to the Ferraris and McLarens.
Who do you think will be Max Verstappen’s teammate in 2025? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
