Liam Lawson set to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Red Bull are understood to have chosen Liam Lawson as their replacement for Sergio Perez. Despite Yuki Tsunoda’s strong performances across several seasons, Christian Horner’s team have opted against promoting the youngster.

Lawson always the favourite within the Red Bull set-up

Historically, Red Bull have been ruthless when it comes to their driver line-ups.

The likes of Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly were given very little margin for error when racing for the Milton Keynes squad.

However, Red Bull’s approach has been completely different towards Sergio Perez.

Despite two seasons of poor performance, the Austrian team have waited until the last possible moment before replacing Perez – even at the expense of this year’s constructors title.

Another equally unusual perspective Red Bull have persisted with is their attitude towards Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda never truly in contention

Tsunoda has now outscored three different teammates at VCARB.

When De Vries, Ricciardo and later Lawson joined the Faenza team, Red Bull made no secret they expected these drivers to outperform the 24-year-old.

On each occasion, Tsunoda has risen to the challenge.

However, even before Lawson returned to F1 in COTA, Christian Horner made clear that Lawson was the leading candidate to join Red Bull.

Most recently, Horner described Tsunoda and Lawson as being evenly matched at the Qatar GP.

The Red Bull team principal made no reference of Lawson’s incident with Bottas – the kind of error that Tsunoda has been criticised immensely for in the past.

Quite clearly, there was no result the Japanese driver could deliver to earn a promotion.

Regardless of how well he performs, Tsunoda’s chances of climbing the ladder at Red Bull seem non-existent.

Red Bull put their faith in Lawson

According to it.motorsport,Lawson is set to drive alongside Max Verstappen next year.

The Kiwi has shown strong pace since making his debut in COTA, securing points finishes in America and Brazil.

Of course, the 22-year-old has committed plenty of mistakes. Having shown Perez the middle finger in Mexico and hit into Bottas at Qatar, Lawson clearly has to polish certain aspects of his driving.

Considering the narrative surrounding Lawson’s teammate, his errors and team radio outbursts have received far less attention.

Moreover, considering that the likes of Carlos Sainz were available this year, it cannot be said Red Bull have picked the best option available.

Then again, the Austrian squad haven’t made a good driver pick since Ricciardo’s 2018 exit.

Looking ahead to next season, Lawson will be under immense pressure. With less than an F1 season under his belt, the Kiwi will race against heavy-hitters like Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in 2025.

Considering Lawson’s limited experience, reclaiming the constructors title will be a huge challenge for Red Bull.

Still, as mentioned previously, this decision is hardly a surprise. For whatever pre-conceived reason, Tsunoda was written off as an option for Red Bull a long time ago.

Despite beating every driver put alongside him, Tsunoda is set to spend another year at VCARB.

Only time will tell, if like previous years, Red Bull come to regret their decision.