By Ben Langley
The rivalry of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson could break Red Bull!
After Red Bull replaced Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda just two race weekends in, it sent shockwaves around the Formula 1 world. Not only that, but it prolonged the farcical reality of Red Bull’s failing young driver programme.
The Japanese Grand Prix weekend saw home hero Yuki Tsunoda thrown into the senior team, and he finished the race in an underwhelming 12th place but a race that included a first lap pass on Lawson.
After a third consecutive race weekend of only one Red Bull driver scoring points, questions remained over the team’s management of their second driver.
The decision to promote Lawson over Tsunoda for 2025 seemed a strange one given the Kiwi’s minimal 11 race starts over two years compared to Tsunoda’s 89. However, their rivalry goes back further than their brief spell as Racing Bulls teammates.
Prior to his demotion, Lawson was quick to point out his performances over Tsunoda in junior categories. The pair were teammates in the 2019 Euroformula Open, with Lawson coming out on top. Liam also got the upper hand in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series. But the trend hasn’t exactly continued in the peak of motorsport that is Formula 1.
Tsunoda’s qualifying head-to-head with Lawson is 9-1 in the Japanese driver’s favour in their time as teammates. However, Lawson has edged the Grand Prix head-to-head 6-5, mainly due to Tsunoda enduring many retirements.
The 2025 season has saw a crash in damp conditions in Australia and a double dose of the slowest qualifier in China that showcased the peak of Lawson’s struggles. His misery was compounded by Tsunoda’s early season form. Tsunoda could and maybe should have scored points in Melbourne and Shanghai if not falling foul to the questionable Racing Bulls strategy. While the Chinese Sprint saw Tsunoda finish in an impressive 6th.
Heading into Japan, the swap between the two only added to the rivalry that was growing between them. The qualifying result saw, perhaps not a surprise, Lawson outqualifying Tsunoda in the junior car. Lawson didn’t have ‘much to say’ after the result as it exposed the underlying issues with the Red Bull car, rather than his driving abilities. Tsunoda on the other hand said he didn’t feel the pressure of trying to break the curse of the second seat struggles.
The damage was done in qualifying as it was notoriously difficult to overtake in the race, with Tsunoda only finishing 12th.
Tsunoda’s performance was no doubt an improvement on Lawson’s brief stint, but there will only be more questions if the new Red Bull driver is unable to start delivering points for his new team. This, combined with an uptick in Lawson’s form, will only add to the friction between the two and is a storyline to look out for over the next few races of the season.
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