Christian Horner Reveals Reason For Liam Lawson's Red Bull Promotion Over Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull's decision to promote Liam Lawson to partner Max Verstappen for the 2025 Formula 1 season over Yuki Tsunoda was driven by Lawson's race pace, versatility, and potential for growth.

Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan (22) arrives for the Las Vegas Grand Prix drivers parade at the Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

The announcement from Red Bull that Liam Lawson will partner with Max Verstappen for the 2025 Formula 1 season marks a huge development in the team's driver lineup. Team principal Christian Horner has revealed why the team decided to opt for Lawson rather than his VCARB teammate Yuki Tsunoda, despite the latter heading into his fifth season with the sister team.

The decision to elevate Lawson to a Red Bull seat emerged shortly after the announcement that Sergio Perez would not continue with the team despite having two years remaining on his contract.

Christian Horner revealed several factors that influenced the decision. Despite facing stiff competition from Tsunoda, who has been part of the Red Bull setup for several seasons and demonstrated strong test performance in Abu Dhabi, Lawson's strengths lay in his race pace and mental resilience. Horner explained to ESPN:

"It was very, very tight between the two of them. I mean, Yuki is a very fast driver. He's got three or four seasons of experience now. He did a very good job in the tire test for us in Abu Dhabi where the engineers were impressed with how he performed.

"With Liam, when you look and go into the analytics of his race, pace was slightly better in the races that he did. His qualifying pace was very tight with Yuki, and you've got to assume that the potential with Liam having only done 11 grand prix, is he's only going to get better and stronger. He's shown real mental resilience and toughness.

"A couple of things have stood out with me with Liam - how versatile he is," Horner said. "You put him into a situation, he gets on with it. If you remember his debut in Zandvoort after Daniel broke his fingers, he was racing against Max on his out lap.

"He's got that kind of gritty racer mentality. He did a year in the DTM where he adjusted to driving a Ferrari GT car incredibly quickly alongside Alex Albon and generally had the upper hand. And again, his racecraft has been really one of his key strengths. So he's not afraid to go wheel-to-wheel and even rub wheels where necessary. So I think he's going to do a great job for us."

Horner added:

"The engineers have enjoyed working with him through the running that he's done this year. He's got a good work ethic as well. So it is great to have Yuki still involved with the Racing Bull scene next year. And of course he's on standby should he ever be required."