Fresh “data” question after “knee-jerk” Red Bull Liam Lawson call

Red Bull’s analysis of their own data has been questioned after their decision to ditch Liam Lawson.

Lawson became the latest driver to be brutally removed from the Red Bull by the team, losing his seat after just two races.

He will be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda from next weekend’s F1 Japanese Grand Prix, and will be sent back to Racing Bulls where he was only recently promoted from.

Sky F1 commentator David Croft asked: “What I’d love to know is: how they made the decision about Liam Lawson in the first place?

“They had all the data from RB, their sister team. They can compare Verstappen to Lawson, Tsunoda to Perez.

“They have got all the data they need, but they seem to keep making the wrong decision.

“What data did they use? Why now, after two races, are they discarding that data? And bringing in Tsunoda who they didn’t think worthy, and haven’t thought was worthy for some time?”

Red Bull 'conveyor belt' of drivers is slowing

Lawson was given the nod to step up and become Max Verstappen’s teammate at the end of 2024, ending a long spell where Sergio Perez was under pressure.

Perez’s inability to score points was part of the reason that Red Bull conceded the constructors’ championship to McLaren, so he lost his seat and was replaced by Lawson.

Tsunoda was overlooked in favour of then-teammate Lawson, who had only driven in 11 grands prix.

But after poor performances, particularly in qualifying, in Australia and China, Lawson has been added to a list which includes Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon of axed Red Bull drivers.

Crofty demanded: “Helmut Marko and Christian Horner need to sit out and say: ‘Where is our conveyor belt of talent? Who is coming through? How do we make a long-term plan to stop making knee-jerk reactions that don’t do the team any good, or the drivers any good?’

“They had, at one time, the best driver development on the planet.

“Like Chelsea, they signed too many players. Their substitutes bench was creaking. “And they had to offload because they couldn’t find space for all of their drivers.

“Now, they probably haven’t got the conveyor belt of talent coming through, ready for a seat at the top team at this particular time.

“It takes a bit of time if you’re not a Max Verstappen, a Kimi Antonelli, a Lewis Hamilton. You need time to ease yourself in.

“Fernando Alonso had it in his debut year with Minardi.”