Red Bull departure ‘tough to hear’, but Liam Lawson delighted to still have Formula One chance

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson wished he had more time to make an impact at his former team after he was ejected from the senior team two races into the season. 

Lawson opened up about his demotion back to the Racing Bulls in Japan on Thursday, saying that the news came as a surprise to him. 

Regardless of the demotion, Lawson remains in one of the most sought after racing seats in the world, Formula 1, a reality that both he and Red Bull boss Christian Horner are still cognisant of. 

Following the announcement of Lawson’s swap with Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda, Horner said Red Bull still had a duty to “develop” the 23-year-old Kiwi racer. 

Lawson said he had a couple days to adjust himself to the new reality before him, and is now focused on racing at Suzuka this weekend. 

“I think I was more surprised. Obviously it’s very early in the season, and I was hoping to go to a track that I’ve raced before and have a clean weekend to have a chance like that.

“The decision obviously was made when I was told, so although it was tough to hear, I had one or two days to think about it. Then I was in Faenza with VCARB (Racing Bulls) starting preparations and seat fits, and then you’re basically just focused on the job.

“I have the opportunity to still be in Formula 1 and still racing, and that is the main thing for me.

“I’m excited to be here. It’s been a strong start to the season for this team, for VCARB, so I guess it’s exciting for me to now come here in this position,” Lawson said. 

Lawson’s early ejection from the second seat in Red Bull, alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen, came as a result of successive poor performances in the Australian and Chinese Grand Prix.

Both Lawson and the Red Bull team made errors that caused the rookie’s bottom of the pack finishes. 

His successor on the other hand, Tsunoda, has enjoyed a good start to the season with the Racing Bulls and accumulated three Championship points.

Tsunoda will now have his first crack at driving what has been described as an almost impossible to drive race car. 

Tsunoda said he got the call to join Verstappen after the China race and immediately got onto the simulator. 

Making headlines across the world in arguably the biggest news in F1 since Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari, Tsunoda said he welcomes the pressure and is actually feeling confident.

“I didn’t get any specific races or the time I have to prove myself. He’s [Horner] been so far, very supportive and he just mentioned expectations to me on what he wants me to achieve. Pressure will always come once you hit the track, for now it’s really relaxing.

“It feels actually similar to when I was in VCARB. Once I entered the hospitality, I was only thinking about breakfast! I don’t so far necessarily feel pressure. I think those things will naturally come – it’s a home Grand Prix, and Qualifying I’m sure is going to be hectic.

“There’s not much point to feeling pressure. I’m feeling confident and I hope I can do it a bit different from the other drivers,” the Japanese driver said.