Liam Lawson’s mental strain revealed: ‘The engineers were very concerned’
“The engineers were coming to me very concerned about it, and at the end of the day, I think it was the logical thing to do.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has revealed that several engineers expressed concerns about how Liam Lawson was affected mentally by his difficult stint with the team.
Lawson has been demoted to Racing Bulls after just two races alongside Max Verstappen.
The Kiwi failed to score a point in his two outings for Red Bull, qualifying last in the two sessions at the Chinese Grand Prix last time out.
Red Bull have taken the brutal decision to drop Lawson after just two rounds, opening the door for Yuki Tsunoda to make his Red Bull debut at his home race this weekend in Japan.
Lawson will be able to rebuild his career at RB, partnering with Isack Hadjar.
Red Bull have stressed the importance of looking after Lawson following his difficult tenure with the team.
In an interview with Sky Sports ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, Horner conceded that Lawson's on-track struggles affected him mentally.
“I think with everything that we saw in Australia and China, you could see that it was really affecting Liam quite badly,” Horner explained.
“We could have left it, and I think that Liam is a driver with talent. Maybe within half a season he would have got there, but we just don’t have that amount of time.
“It was something that was very clear to the engineering side within the team, just how much Liam was struggling with it all, and you could see that weight upon his shoulders.
“The engineers were coming to me very concerned about it, and at the end of the day, I think it was the logical thing to do.”
Red Bull eye improvements with Tsunoda
One key factor in bringing Tsunoda into the team is his experience.
Tsunoda has over four years of F1 experience under his belt - 89 starts with Red Bull’s junior team.
While Verstappen is second in the drivers’ championship, just eight points off Lando Norris, Red Bull had the fourth-fastest car in China.
Horner thinks Red Bull will benefit from Tsunoda’s feedback as they look to improve the car.
“We’ve got work to do with the car,” Horner added. “We need to improve the car. We need to draw on the experience that Yuki has.
“And in the meantime, you need to go and rebuild yourself in the Racing Bulls, in an environment that you know and is perhaps slightly less pressured than Red Bull Racing.”
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
