Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has explained why the team opted against promoting Yuki Tsunoda, despite him being “faster” than Liam Lawson. Lawson got the nod over Tsunoda to replace the axed Sergio Perez for 2025, with the 22-year-old New Zealander becoming Max Verstappen ’s fifth teammate since he joined Red Bull in 2016.

Max Verstappen believes the identity of his teammate next season "won’t matter" as long as Red Bull can produce a fast car.

Yuki Tsunoda has a plan to ‘prove Red Bull wrong’ after the Milton Keynes squad opted to replace Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson. The Japanese racer enjoyed a stellar 2024 campaign, but was still overlooked in favour of his inexperienced team-mate.

With Sergio Perez out at Red Bull, Liam Lawson has been promoted to the team alongside champion Max Verstappen.

Red Bull expect Liam Lawson to be within three tenths of Max Verstappen throughout the 2025 F1 season. That is according to Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, who has laid down the expectations for Lawson before he steps up to the Red Bull senior team in 2025.

Liam Lawson will race alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing in 2025 for the first time but the two know each other well as the Kiwi has been an academy member for years

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Lawson, 22, has already been through his fair share of drama since stepping up to F1. There were complaints when he replaced fan favourite Daniel Ricciardo and supporters of Sergio Perez similarly came out in their numbers to vent about the Mexican driver losing his seat.

Top Formula 1 teams often avoid giving number one status to one of their drivers in public these days, but Red Bull have made it clear Liam Lawson is not to try challenging Max Verstappen