By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) – Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull Formula One seat swap with Liam Lawson leaves both with plenty to prove and still facing considerable career uncertainty.
Tsunoda, in his fifth season and promoted from Racing Bulls on Thursday to partner four times world champion Max Verstappen from next week’s Japanese round, will happily take on a task that has proved a poisoned chalice for others.
The Japanese should see it as a potential lifeline, with the 24-year-old’s tenure at the Red Bull junior team already at risk when his backers Honda depart for Aston Martin and a new engine era in 2026.
An eventual return to Racing Bulls, as New Zealander Lawson has, is unlikely to be an option for him.
Tsunoda must score substantial points towards the constructors’ championship and support Verstappen’s bid for a fifth successive drivers’ title as the basic requirements for any longer-term future.
Lawson will meanwhile be fighting to keep his F1 career alive at Racing Bulls, a conveyor belt for talent within the Red Bull young driver stable.
The 23-year-old needs to reset, focus and show his worth against French rookie Isack Hadjar, after the huge psychological blow of lasting only two races alongside Verstappen, and that will not be easy either.
The Kiwi is still essentially a rookie, starting a season this year for the first time albeit one with 11 previous races under his belt as a stand-in for now-departed Australian Daniel Ricciardo.
The team also have British-Swedish youngster Arvid Lindblad waiting in the wings, with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and consultant Helmut Marko rating the 17-year-old particularly highly.
Lindblad has the points required for a super-licence and will qualify on age when he turns 18 in August.
“The junior team… is to find new talents. We are not looking for a new Max. We are looking for a new champion. I think the next one which looks really promising is Arvid Lindblad,” Marko told the Inside Line F1 podcast in December.
Verstappen could also shake things up again if he decides to move elsewhere, however unlikely that looks at present.
The Dutch 27-year-old is under contract at Red Bull to the end of 2028 but there has been continual speculation about his future, with performance clauses potentially opening the door for him to go elsewhere.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
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