Liam Lawson has claimed he was blindsided by Red Bull’s decision to demote him back to Racing Bulls as he voiced his shock over the call.
In the days following the Chinese Grand Prix, Red Bull opted to swap Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, with the Kiwi going back to the junior team while Tsunoda was promoted to partner Max Verstappen from the Japanese Grand Prix – his home race.
Part of the rationale was that Red Bull needed Tsunoda’s experience of 89 grand prix starts to aid the development of the tricky RB21, something it was felt that Lawson, with a total of 13 starts to his name, could not deliver.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has called the decision to promote Lawson in the first place as a “mistake” with the team drawing criticism for giving Lawson the nod over Tsunoda for the start of the season after it dropped Sergio Perez.
Speaking out about the decision, Lawson has confirmed he was blindsided by it.
“It was definitely a shock, honestly. It’s not something that I saw coming,” Lawson told Sky Sports F1.
“The discussions we were having as well, I think, weren’t really leaning in this direction, so it was definitely not something that I expected.”
Lawson ‘deserved more time’ at Red Bull
Lawson was called up to Red Bull as a replacement for Sergio Perez at the end of the 2024 campaign but faced similar struggles to extract pace from the car.
The 24-year-old’s two-race stint marks the shortest time spent at Red Bull by a driver.
When asked if he felt he deserved more time at the senior team, Lawson said: “Honestly, yes.
“Obviously, I would have loved more time.
“I felt like with more time, especially going to places that I’d been before… it was a tough start. We had a rocky pre-season testing.
“We had a rocky first weekend in Melbourne with practice, and then obviously China was a Sprint.
“I think going to places that I’d been before with the way the car was quite tricky, I think that would have helped and I would have loved that opportunity.
“But obviously, it’s not my decision, so I’m here to make the most of this one.”
