Liam Lawson expects Yuki Tsunoda to be “more comfortable” on Red Bull debut in Japan

Liam Lawson has tipped Yuki Tsunoda to feel “more comfortable” on his debut for Red Bull at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix.

After just two races alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, Lawson has been demoted to Racing Bulls for Suzuka.

Lawson struggled considerably for overall speed in his two races for the team in Australia and China.

The Kiwi was well off the pace at Albert Park before crashing out in treacherous conditions in the race.

More worryingly for Lawson, he qualified 20th and last in the two qualifying sessions in Shanghai.

As a result, Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have swapped seats from this weekend’s race.

In the pre-race FIA press conference on Thursday, Lawson explained why Tsunoda should be more “comfortable” than he was in China.

“I mean, China was a bit more unique, I would say,” Lawson said when reflecting on his struggles.

“For the race, we tried something with the setup, and it was quite aggressive. It was to get some answers and to build a direction with the car. We went with that, and in the end, it didn’t work too well in China, specifically with the degradation that we had on the fronts.The car itself felt quite good but on the tyres we were struggling.

“Coming here, it’s a new place. For Yuki, it’s a great opportunity on a track he’s done a lot. I am sure he will probably be more comfortable I would say. I am sure they’ve done work over the last week in the short break to try and work on improving things.”

Lawson hoped issues were “taken into consideration more”

Lawson had hoped that factors that have impacted his performance at Red Bull would be “taken into consideration more.”

Reliability issues in pre-season testing prevented him from completing a long run on the second day of running in Bahrain.

He’s never driven at Albert Park before while the race was wet.

Similarly, with China - it was a sprint weekend, meaning he had just 60 minutes to get up to speed.

“In Formula 1, it’s motorsport. You have issues and that’s part [of it]. Especially with these cars that are pushing the limits like they are,” Lawson added. “I may have hoped that would be taken into consideration more and I think that’s why forme it was important to come to a place that I’ve raced before and driven before.

“Melbourne and China are both tough tracks and the way the weekend went they weren’t the smoothest. It’s motorsport. The decision wasn’t mine but I will make the most of it.”