F1 News
Lawson tough on 'good friend' Tsunoda: "He's had his time"
Liam Lawson has said he does not feel sorry for Yuki Tsunoda, saying it is "my time" while his former teammate has "had his chance" to take the second seat at Red Bull Racing.
Lawson was handed the second seat at the Austrian team after just 11 Grands Prix, replacing the outgoing Sergio Perez after the 2024 season. Many thought his Racing Bulls teammate Yuki Tsunoda would be the ideal replacement, but the New Zealander was offered the sport before the Japanese driver.
Lawson was asked if he feels sorry for Yuki Tsunoda, and speaking the The Telegraph, the 23-year-old said: "Honestly? No." The two have known each other for a long time, both being a part of the Red Bull Junior Team for quite some time while also competing against each other in various step-up classes. But you can't feel sorry for anyone in F1.
Lawson does not feel sorry for Tsunoda
“You can’t in this sport, and anyway if I look back over our career, I was team-mates with him in F3 and I beat him. In Euro Formula, I was team-mates with him in New Zealand, and I beat him there. And then in F1 last season, I think honestly, if I look at all the times he got promoted instead of me in those early years, then no. He’s had his time. Now it’s my time,” continued Lawson.
However, the New Zealander is struggling to make ideal use of his time as a Red Bull driver at the moment. In Australia, he was out of Q1, and then he crashed out of the race the next day. In sprint qualifying in China, Lawson, once again, failed to get out of the first qualifying session, finishing dead last. On the other hand, Tsunoda did get into the final qualifying session in both qualifying sessions on behalf of Racing Bulls.
In that respect, the pressure is on Liam Lawson early in the season. The New Zealander was given three to five races by Helmut Marko to impress, so now it is up to him to turn it around quickly. Otherwise, the leadership at Red Bull could be ruthless once again.
This article was written in collaboration with Tim Kraaij
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