Speaking to F1.com, the Italian driver shared his thoughts on Red Bull’s decision.
The hottest topic at the start of the 2025 season is undoubtedly the swap between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, with the Japanese driver set to take the second Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen, replacing Lawson. Lawson was dismissed by the Austrian team’s management after just two races, despite the opposing view of the reigning World Champion.
The New Zealand driver, after 11 races between 2023 and 2024, will return to Racing Bulls to try to rebuild his career with a team that is certainly less exposed to the pressure of having to deliver results immediately, unlike the main team.
Lawson’s time at Red Bull is the shortest in the team’s history, with only two races, surpassing Robert Doornbos, who had three races in 2006, and Vitantonio Liuzzi, who raced four Grands Prix in the debut 2005 season, earning a point in the San Marino Grand Prix.
Vitantonio Liuzzi on Liam Lawson: his words to F1.com.
It was the Apulian driver himself who shared his opinion on this swap yesterday to the official F1.com microphones: “It’s definitely not an easy time for a driver like him, especially with so little experience. He needs to put the pieces back together and show that he has the talent to stay in Formula 1.”
“It’s about considering the experience at Red Bull as a little nightmare, because in the end it was only a few months, and then rebuilding his position as an F1 driver, which he can do with Racing Bulls.”
Liuzzi has confirmed that the Racing Bulls environment could benefit Liam Lawson’s career, allowing him to follow a similar path to Pierre Gasly, who was promoted to Red Bull after just one season with the old Toro Rosso, only to be demoted after half a season, securing 3 podiums, including the extraordinary victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Vitantonio Liuzzi then focused on the reasons behind the decision, stating that Red Bull is currently in urgent need of collecting points, as they are in third place in the Constructors’ Championship with 36 points, all of which have been earned by Max Verstappen, 42 points behind the leading McLaren.
“At the moment, they really need a second driver who can bring points to the team, because clearly they no longer have the superiority they once had, when they were so far ahead of the others that they could win easily. If Red Bull wants to fight for the championship, they can’t waste time. When no signs of a reaction were seen from Liam after the second race, I believe that’s why they made this decision so quickly.”
“With Yuki, they also saw in the tests after last year’s Abu Dhabi GP that he was performing quite well. So, I think that with him, Red Bull believes they can reduce the problem and the gap with Verstappen.” Sicuramente, non sarà mai facile per nessun compagno di squadra accanto a un pilota come Max, ma Yuki ha più esperienza in F1, quindi stanno provando questa nuova soluzione. È un momento delicato, ma per lui dovrebbe essere più semplice far funzionare le cose in Red Bull“, concluded Liuzzi.
PHOTO: Liam Lawson, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Vitantonio Liuzzi.
