610 replies to this topic

[Celloman]

Cyanide, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:17, said:

No offense, but he's been piss poor. Zero improvement this weekend. They have to do something.

He had what, three days of pre-season testing? One hour of practice at Australia after missing one session and then China that had a total of half an hour of practice. Far too few laps to make definite conclusions even if he looks bad now.

[SophieB]

FirstnameLastname, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:31, said:

What if Yuki goes there and is at the back with a stinker of a race at his home… for Honda… and Liam excels in the Alpha Rosso Credit Card? Tsunoda will be kicking himself

Well then that would be a shame. But what if it goes great? Seems to me most drivers would relish the opportunity to shine over fearing not achieving. 

[CaptHaddock91]

Cyanide, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:17, said:

No offense, but he's been piss poor. Zero improvement this weekend. They have to do something.

yes, work on that side of the garage so that their second driver can make the car work.

But in the toxic atmosphere inside the team, they’ll just be passing blame on the other “party” for choosing the wrong driver, replace him and then start over again when the replacement driver will also struggle.

[FirstnameLastname]

I think the Redbull problem is throwing a (semi) rookie into such a pressured environment so early into his career, against Verstappen

To benchmark the car, they should just hire outside again - a solid journeyman like Sainz, Bottas, just to help with tech feedback and bag some solid points while they focus on Max’s thirst for wins/championships

It’s all well and good trying to have a conveyer belt of hot new drivers, but the 2nd seat isn’t designed to nurture talent - they should make peace with that and just use the 2nd team for that purpose

[garoidb]

jonklug, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:28, said:

Yea but Perez had a big contract, Lawson is on the minimum.

 

You would wonder what Red Bull's medium term plan for drivers is? For 2026, Max could leave and there will be no requirement for a Japanese driver with Honda gone. Lawson's reputation might be in shreds. Sergio and Daniel are already gone. Hadjar may turn out well but will still be relatively inexperienced next year in relation to leading the senior team. It's risky for him to be the only potential team leader available (if Max leaves).

[Ruudbackus]

Never been a fan of Lawson and so far he's not bringing me on other thoughts. I have always been in favor of Yuki going to redbull but i think he would/will struggle too.

[Clrnc]

jonklug, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:31, said:

So then you should agree the RedBull became a much harder car to drive, and now on top of that it isn't that fast either. You have to feel for Liam considering Perez himself, a solid and experienced midfield driver struggled to get out of Q1 in the last races of last year.

I don't see how Tsunoda brings in massive improvement. Focus should be on improving the car. People are still focusing too much on the drivers and not on Redbulls failure with the car.

Nope, it just shows that Checo is underappreciated especially by people like you who is constantly critical of him. But it also shows that Lawson has no business in that seat. 

 

Whole world has no doubt Tsunoda will bring in massive improvement, frankly because he is a far better driver. People gets conned easily by small sample size when drivers come in and partner Tsunoda and looks like they can match him without looking at VCARB strategies and circumstances. It's simple insane to not pick Tsunoda last year, it's utter lunacy to pick Lawson just for political reasons and it's showing now. 

[jonklug]

CaptHaddock91, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:34, said:

yes, work on that side of the garage so that their second driver can make the car work.

But in the toxic atmosphere inside the team, they’ll just be passing blame on the other “party” for choosing the wrong driver, replace him and then start over again when the replacement driver will also struggle.

Yep. The engineering side of that garage should also be put under scrutiny, they can't seem to be able to help their driver extract more from the car, or figure out a setup that gives them any sort of confidence to push. And this has been going on for a while.

[FirstnameLastname]

Celloman, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:33, said:

He had what, three days of pre-season testing? One hour of practice at Australia after missing one session and then China that had a total of half an hour of practice. Far too few laps to make definite conclusions even if he looks bad now.

He raced half a season last year didn’t he?

[SophieB]

Fwiw, Horner was just asked if he will get time to improve on Sky and he didn’t exactly say yes.

[FirstnameLastname]

You could stick Perez name and helmet on him and nobody would have been any the wiser

Not what they paid Perez off for.

[FirstnameLastname]

SophieB, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:33, said:

Well then that would be a shame. But what if it goes great? Seems to me most drivers would relish the opportunity to shine over fearing not achieving.

True - but they must surely see that the 2nd seat at RB is a honey trap

[jacdaniel]

What’s funny is that all the non Red Bull fans keep making the same mistake. They assume that Red Bull is a great car and the drivers are terrible and the 2nd seat is wasted on insert whatever driver currently has the seat.

Albon, Gasly and Perez were all very capable drivers. Even Lawson looked very good in Vcarb. The reality is that the car is just very hard to drive and also too slow anyways. Not a good combination.

They should swap Yuki and Lawson for some races and the roles will just swap.

[FirstnameLastname]

Marko on Monday morning: ‘whose career can we ruin next?’ ‘Someone call Colapinto’

[katmen]

Law needs time bbut not straight to rbr an difficult car,he needs toregain himslef in whole season i rb ,Yuki ir RBR could give him timeto mature for RBR, ending last is no brainer and damaging

[Darnswim]

Liam's body language in that interview all but says "Please, for the love of God put me back in that RB car. This RedBull is undriveable".

[NateF]

Reading the comments from Lawson in that pre season interview and now reading he maybe swapped with Yuki in his third race after this well not so great start is ouch

[Cyanide]

SophieB, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:36, said:

Fwiw, Horner was just asked if he will get time to improve on Sky and he didn’t exactly say yes.

Yeah, body language clearly tells us that the decision has mostly been made and that the Chinese race result sealed it. Lawson made no progress.

[SophieB]

jacdaniel, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:39, said:

What’s funny is that all the non Red Bull fans keep making the same mistake. They assume that Red Bull is a great car and the drivers are terrible and the 2nd seat is wasted on insert whatever driver currently has the seat.

Albon, Gasly and Perez were all very capable drivers. Even Lawson looked very good in Vcarb. The reality is that the car is just very hard to drive and also too slow anyways. Not a good combination.

They should swap Yuki and Lawson for some races and the roles will just swap.

Please stop addressing your posts to thin air like this. If you have an issue with specific posts made, please quote one or more of them.

[SophieB]

Darnswim, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:40, said:

Liam's body language in that interview all but says "Please, for the love of God put me back in that RB car. This RedBull is undriveable".

He did look extremely dejected.

[FirstnameLastname]

jacdaniel, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:39, said:

What’s funny is that all the non Red Bull fans keep making the same mistake. They assume that Red Bull is a great car and the drivers are terrible and the 2nd seat is wasted on insert whatever driver currently has the seat.

Albon, Gasly and Perez were all very capable drivers. Even Lawson looked very good in Vcarb. The reality is that the car is just very hard to drive and also too slow anyways. Not a good combination.

They should swap Yuki and Lawson for some races and the roles will just swap.

This is the best idea because we know Yuki is good… and it gives Lawson the opportunity to excel in the seemingly very drivable RB in an environment he already knows

If the same result comes around, Lawson in Q3 and Yuki out in Q1 (screaming on the radio) then it confirms the B-side of the Redbull garage is a dud and/or Max ‘could win in a Minardi’

[Darnswim]

FirstnameLastname, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:42, said:

This is the best idea because we know Yuki is good… and it gives Lawson the opportunity to excel in the seemingly very drivable RB in an environment he already knows

If the same result comes around, Lawson in Q3 and Yuki out in Q1 (screaming on the radio) then it confirms the B-side of the Redbull garage is a dud and/or Max ‘could win in a Minardi’

Exactly. It's a win/win. We all know how good Yuki is. He's a known quantity at this point. Yuki finally gets his chance at RedBull, Lawson gets way more comfortable with RB and if Yuki struggles (very likely) then he gets to say "see? It's not my fault that I was that slow"

We know that the B-side garage of the RedBull struggles even with good drivers. Albon and Gasly have already proved it.

[jacdaniel]

FirstnameLastname, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:42, said:

This is the best idea because we know Yuki is good… and it gives Lawson the opportunity to excel in the seemingly very drivable RB in an environment he already knows

If the same result comes around, Lawson in Q3 and Yuki out in Q1 (screaming on the radio) then it confirms the B-side of the Redbull garage is a dud and/or Max ‘could win in a Minardi’

It’s worth a shot to be fair. They’ve nothing to lose. Liam and Perez can do nothing with it.

[Laster]

I could understand doing this for one reason. Horner has been so adamantly against Tsunoda joining Red Bull, but with the car being such a pain in the arse to drive he has rationalised that if one of their drivers reputation is going to be destroyed sitting in that second car, then it should be Yuki. Lawson can gain experience in the Racing Bull, and then next year with the rule change, they'll dump Yuki entirely and put Lawson back in, hoping they build a car that is actually driveable for someone other than Max.

[Darnswim]

Laster, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:48, said:

I could understand doing this for one reason. Horner has been so adamantly against Tsunoda joining Red Bull, but with the car being such a pain in the arse to drive he has rationalised that if one of their drivers reputation is going to be destroyed sitting in that second car, then it should be Yuki. Lawson can gain experience in the Racing Bull, and then next year with the rule change, they'll dump Yuki entirely and put Lawson back in, hoping they build a car that is actually driveable for someone other than Max.

Yuki has more than enough credit in the bank for his reputation to get destroyed by RedBull. Even if he struggles, I'm pretty sure Aston or some other team would sign him up instantly.

[miso]

FirstnameLastname, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:31, said:

What if Yuki goes there and is at the back with a stinker of a race at his home… for Honda… and Liam excels in the Alpha Rosso Credit Card? Tsunoda will be kicking himself

 

I am confident the Credit Card can stuff strategy up enough Yuki will end up ahead in the worse car. 

[jonklug]

Sergio Rodriguez reporting "Honda pushing hard for a Tsunoda-Lawson swap as early as Suzuka."

 

https://x.com/sergio...743860754268365

[Darnswim]

jonklug, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:55, said:

Sergio Rodriguez reporting "Honda pushing hard for a Tsunoda-Lawson swap as early as Suzuka."

 

https://x.com/sergio...743860754268365

That is to be expected. Their last year with RedBull, and Tsunoda is their project. If they are able to make it happen, expect Honda sales to dwarf Toyota in the next couple of months in Japan.

[jonklug]

Yuki Tsunoda's reply to whether he would agree to swap places with Liam Lawson at the Japanese GP:

 

Quote

"Japan? Yeah, 100%. The Red Bull car is faster."

 

 

I think Yuki will have a shock. 

[garoidb]

Darnswim, on 23 Mar 2025 - 09:50, said:

Yuki has more than enough credit in the bank for his reputation to get destroyed by RedBull. Even if he struggles, I'm pretty sure Aston or some other team would sign him up instantly.

 

I could see him as reserve driver for Aston next year. Apart from that, I am struggling to see where the gap at the team is going to come from? If they don't get Max, could he be the team leader alongside Lance when Fernando retires? I don't really see that, to be honest. It's Lance's seat he would need to get and who knows when that will become available?

[Stoffel]

"Why look into the mirror when we can simply blame it on someone else"

 

-Standard Red Bull management way of thinking

[ensign14]

Be more fun if they swapped Tsunoda with Verstappen in order to see if one side of the garage is too overloaded with Red Bull's best.

[Darnswim]

Marko has just confirmed RedBull will hold an emergency meeting during the week. I'd say the chances of Tsunoda in a RedBull for his Home GP have gone up exponentially.

[ANF]

Oh dear.

[krea]

You could sell it to calibrate some data but Lawson is done

[Nicktendo86]

This team is an absolute joke. I bet Max is banging on Toto’s door now.

[Stoffel]

What's the maximum amount a drivers a team is allowed to use during a season...?

 

Asking for an old Austrian

[SenorSjon]

Darnswim, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:14, said:

Marko has just confirmed RedBull will hold an emergency meeting during the week. I'd say the chances of Tsunoda in a RedBull for his Home GP have gone up exponentially.

The previous ones gave Perez contract extensions.

[STRFerrari4Ever]

Lawson potentially out of a seat before Doohan, who would’ve thought it? Especially with the narrative surrounding Doohan as Colapinto was lurking in the shadows all winter long.

[Celloman]

Stoffel, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:29, said:

What's the maximum amount a drivers a team is allowed to use during a season...?

 

Asking for an old Austrian

Four apparently:

 

Quote

The Sporting Regulations allow each team to use up to four drivers across the season, and all of their points will count in the Constructors' Championship.

Mayby they should let Yuki and Hadjar each have a go for one practice session and see if they are any quicker.

[SenorSjon]

STRFerrari4Ever, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:32, said:

Lawson potentially out of a seat before Doohan, who would’ve thought it? Especially with the narrative surrounding Doohan as Colapinto was lurking in the shadows all winter long.

He technically wouldn't lose a F1 seat.

[messy]

God I feel sorry for Lawson. This isn't his **** up, it's Red Bull's. Either for promoting him when it was clearly the wrong decision, or for not bothering to make a car that anyone except Max can drive properly. Or both.

They're so lucky to still be able to call on Max, its the only reason they're not currently a midfield team isn't it.

[garoidb]

messy, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:34, said:

God I feel sorry for Lawson. This isn't his **** up, it's Red Bull's. Either for promoting him when it was clearly the wrong decision, or for not bothering to make a car that anyone except Max can drive properly. Or both.

They're so lucky to still be able to call on Max, its the only reason they're not currently a midfield team isn't it.

 

Arguably a backmarker team. 

[SophieB]

Celloman, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:32, said:

Four apparently:

 

Mayby they should let Yuki and Hadjar each have a go for one practice session and see if they are any quicker.

What happens if a team has already used four and a driver than breaks a wrist, do they get to make allowances or are they just fielding one car for the rest of the year?

[ensign14]

SophieB, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:36, said:

What happens if a team has already used four and a driver than breaks a wrist, do they get to make allowances or are they just fielding one car for the rest of the year?

Bring an old one back?

[SophieB]

ensign14, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:38, said:

Bring an old one back?

I guess so. I was imagining that the other drivers would have got other gigs but yes, I suppose if they were still driving for the other team, that’s what they’d do.

[LiJu914]

Swapping drivers would be very harsh on Lawson, but maybe it´s the best option for RedBull. Even if the results don´t change much, they would get a clearer picture about how much is driver related or team/car related.

 

 

 

Ps.

Imho Suzuka would not be the most representative circuit for an immediate conclusion. The main difference between Lawson and Max wasn´t in high speed corners, but the slowers parts. Suzuka has just two non high speed corners.

So if RedBull indeed swap right now, i think we will get a better impression after 2-3 more races. 

Edited by LiJu914, 23 March 2025 - 10:50.

[balage06]

LiJu914, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:48, said:

Swapping drivers would be very harsh on Lawson

 

Would be harsh on whoever would replace him

[krea]

He shouldn’t sit in that Red Bull in the first place so better fix that mistake before losing even more ground.

[garoidb]

SophieB, on 23 Mar 2025 - 10:41, said:

I guess so. I was imagining that the other drivers would have got other gigs but yes, I suppose if they were still driving for the other team, that’s what they’d do.

 

Yes. If the earlier drivers were driving for other F1 teams and the new one was injured, I think an exception would be made. If they had just been benched and were still available I would expect the rule to be enforced. Otherwise, what is the point of it?