Christian Horner has explained why Yuki Tsunoda, despite his greater experience over Liam Lawson, didn’t land the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen.

Red Bull has made a driver change for F1 2025, with Sergio Perez dropped from its senior team line-up as Liam Lawson steps up from Racing Bulls.

Why Yuki Tsunoda was overlooked by Red Bull

With Perez reaching an agreement to step back from Red Bull after a difficult 2024 season, it opened the door of opportunity for a promotion for one of the Racing Bulls drivers.

It quickly became clear that, if Perez departed, the contenders for the vacant seat were Lawson and Tsunoda.

There is a huge gulf in experience between the pair. Tsunoda has raced for the sister Red Bull team since 2021, then known as AlphaTauri, and has grown into the team leadership role in the years since, despite having a tough transition into Formula 1 from F2 in his rookie year.

Lawson, on the other hand, completed just five races as a stand-in driver for AlphaTauri in 2023, replacing the injured Daniel Ricciardo, and then was given a six-race audition as a full-time replacement for Ricciardo when the Australian was dropped after the Singapore Grand Prix.

In those 11 races, though, Lawson proved to be on par with Tsunoda’s performance level – although the Japanese driver still came out on top, Lawson’s quick adaptation to Formula 1 impressed the Red Bull management.

When it became clear the battle for the seat was between Tsunoda and Lawson, Tsunoda gathered a wave of support from fans online who were eager to see him rewarded for having put in his time with the sister team and coming out on top of his teammate battles with Daniel Ricciardo and with Lawson.

But Tsunoda’s temperament is known to have been a major stumbling block for his progress, with the Japanese driver quick to anger and frustration – his radio messages frequently betray this hot-headedness. While he is much improved in this area, as explained by VCARB CEO Peter Bayer earlier this year, there is still a sense that Tsunoda lacks the maturity and mental fortitude to be able to handle dealing with the pressure put on Red Bull’s second driver when paired with Max Verstappen.

Lawson has shown an ability to handle pressure well, by way of being thrown into the AlphaTauri at short notice last season, and also wasn’t cowed by Fernando Alonso’s battle with him in his first weekend back on track at this year’s United States Grand Prix.

Nor was Lawson fazed by battling with Perez directly at the Mexico City Grand Prix, although that particular battle ended in damage for both.

Speaking to talkSport, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has said that, when push came to shove on making a choice for F1 2025, Lawson has shown more potential at being able to handle the pressure.

“Well, Yuki has done four years with our sister team, and he’s a driver that’s growing in experienced and doing a good job,” he said.

“I think that what we felt in Liam in what he’s achieved in such a short space of time, the trajectory that he’s on looks really promising.

“That doesn’t rule Yuki out for the future. It’s just that at this juncture in time, we believe that Liam has got the right characteristics, the right strength of character to deal with the pressure that comes with being Max Verstappen’s teammate.”

Liam Lawson: I’m here to help Red Bull win the Constructors’ Championship

Speaking on the Talking Bull podcast in the wake of the announcement confirming him at Red Bull, Lawson opened up on the goals he’s set himself for his first full year in Formula 1.

“I mean, obviously, as Formula 1 drivers, we all have one one goal that we share – and that’s winning world championships,” he said.

“So that is my goal, and that’s been my goal since I was a kid and wanted to be a Formula 1 driver.

“Obviously now I’m in a great position. But it’s definitely not what I expect coming in. I don’t expect to come in straight away and win a world championship. I know that.

“The team’s goal is obviously the Constructors’, and that’s what I’m here to do. I’m here to help achieve that.

“But, personally, for me, it’s trying to be in a competitive position as quickly as possible. I’ve got the best guy as my teammate to learn from.”

With Lawson set to pair up with a known teammate breaker in Verstappen, Lawson said he’s eager to get started on learning from the Dutch driver.

“[I haven’t spoken to him] – not yet. I might send him a message, but this has all just happened!” he said.

“Even when I was in Super Formula and other categories, I think Max is somebody that just loves motor sport and watches a lot of it. He’s somebody that has always been kind and supportive when I came in last year as a reserve when I was obviously feeling a lot of pressure at Zandvoort.

“He was somebody that was really good to talk to. So, yeah, it’s cool to go up against him and have him as a teammate. There’s nobody better to learn from. So for me, it’s coming and trying to to be competitive as quickly as possible.”