Guenther Steiner has commented on Red Bull's decision to make personnel changes in its teams, which will see Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson swap places from the Japanese Grand Prix. The former Haas F1 team principal and current RTL expert says he understands Red Bull's logic.
Guenther Steiner: “I can understand that. We have to take two things into account: firstly, no driver has lost a seat, Lawson and Tsunoda will simply swap cars. I think that will be better for Liam, and he will now be able to drive without so much pressure.
And Yuki has long insisted that he is ready to become a Red Bull Racing driver and deserves a place in this team. He has been racing for AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls for more than four years now – now we will see what he is really capable of. He will have to compete with a driver like Max Verstappen, and this is a risky business and requires courage.
Of course, it's a challenge for Yuki, but also an opportunity to continue his career in Formula 1. Because personally, I don't know how Red Bull will select its drivers after the separation from Honda next year. So Tsunoda got a good opportunity to attract attention, but what happened is not so bad for Lawson either.
He's not without a car, it's just a different car now. And he's still a young driver. Red Bull was criticised a lot last year for not taking action for a long time, even though Sergio Perez had stopped scoring points. Maybe that's why they've decided now: “We have nothing to lose, let's try.”
“I thought it would happen after Japan because Liam didn't know the first two tracks, but he knows Suzuka very well because he raced there in the Japanese Super Formula series. But the decision has already been made, and I actually think it will be good for everyone.”
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