- F1. Red Bull makes the change official: Lawson is dropped and Tsunoda is promoted in Japan
- F1. Sergio Perez in Cadillac's pole
Red Bull couldn't stand Liam Lawson any longer and replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda (Sagamihara, 11-5-200) after only two races of the season. The Japanese is an old acquaintance of the Austrian team as he has been part of the Red Bull Junior team since 2019 and made his Formula 1 debut with AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls) in 2021.
The Japanese driver began to excel in 2018 when he won the Japanese Formula 4 Championship, and a few months later he signed for the Red Bull Junior Team (RBJT). With the Austrian team, he achieved third place in the Formula 2 Championship in the 2020 seasonA year later he made the leap to AlphaTauri and since then he had not moved from the team, as some team officials, such as the advisor Helmut Marko, considered that the Japanese driver "lacked continuity and stability". These statements were made in December last year, now three months later Tsunoda moves up to Red Bull's first team
Not afraid of Verstappen
Despite the comments, Tsunoda has never considered himself inferior to Max Verstappen and since the end of last season when Checo Perez's departure from Red Bull was almost a fact, the Japanese driver told Sky Sports: "I'm ready to fight against that monster (Verstappen) but, at the same time, tell him congratulations because he has done very well."
I'm ready to fight that monster (Verstappen)
The Japanese driver added: "I trust myself and I have shown that my results are as consistent as possible."
Tsunoda will make his debut next Friday at the Suzuka Circuit as a Red Bull F1 driver, when practice for the Japanese Grand Prix takes place. This season Yuki has only scored three points and they all came thanks to his sixth place in the Chinese GP sprint.