P1 with Matt and Tommy - Our reaction to Yuki Tsunoda REPLACING Liam Lawson at Red Bull

Episode Date: March 27, 2025

Despite two terrible performances, Red Bull have done the seemingly unthinkable ALREADY: they’ve dropped Liam Lawson to RB and promoted Yuki Tsunoda to the senior team! We gather our thoughts on an embarrassing decision for Red Bull that could prove career-defining for both drivers. You can listen to an extended version of every Race Review podcast over on our Patreon! Sign up to also get every P1 episode ad-free, early access to live tickets and merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now!Follow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the B1 podcast with Matt and Tommy, emergency edition. I am currently, and I do, I am not joking right now, we will post this on social media. I am in Sweden right now for the F1 Sim Racing World Championship. This news has started to break and I am balancing my iPad on a sideways bathroom bin which is magnetically attached to the cover of my iPad to be able to record the YouTube. side of this video. And in the audio side, I have to do a big shout out to Alex Jakes, who allowed me to borrow his microphone. It's a big shout out to him. He is the goat. But I just wanted to give some context as to the absolute levels that we are going to for this

podcast, Tommy. We're not missing this one for the world. And I did not expect to be doing a, well, a driver announcement or driver replacement literally two weeks into the F1 season. What on earth is going on? Two weeks. Tommy, two race weekends is all Liam Lawson was given. And now your goat, Tommy, Yuki Sanoda is stepping up to Red Bull. I think everybody needs to understand your emotions and feelings right now. Because I reckon it's not all elation. No, it's a lot of nerves.

It's absolutely insane. Like my first thoughts of this whole thing is just simply insane. It's been two races. Like we said, two weeks, Liam Lawson has been a drug. We remember saying about, like, Pierre Gasley, for example, and how harsh it was that he got replaced after half a season. This is two weeks. Liam Lawson has done one race at Albert Park in the wet and a sprint weekend where you get very little practice time. And that's all, at two circuits, he's never drawn.

driven up before as well, and they've got rid of him. And don't get me wrong, I'm one of these people that wanted UK-Snedrin in the first place, but oh my word, how is this happened already? This is utterly insane. So we're diving into our first thoughts, which I think is our reaction to this news. Of course, Ralph Schumacher apparently is the Oracle, and he's the one that decided to tell everybody that this was happening, and you're thinking, oh, is he just playing games with Red Bull or, you know, whatever. And then obviously we have, um, I'm a lot of, um, Other journalists start to report it. And, you know, we're good citizens, aren't we, Tommy?

We wait until the official news before we jump on it, just to make sure, because you never know, Rebel could change their mind at the last minute and go, actually, two races is kind of harsh, guys. Because that is literally my first reaction is, as much as Liam Lawson was terrible in those first two races, you can't say it's anything other than that. He's coming up to two races that he actually has experience racing around in Super Formula in Japan. He's done that track and then he's done Bahrain preseason testing. What has gone on behind closed doors at Red Bull where they've gone,

he doesn't even deserve that, we need to make the change now? Like it is code red. Like when you think of it from a PR perspective, it is terrible for Red Bull to see a driver that they're supposedly bringing up to the big leagues and yes, you've earned your opportunity in quite a quick time. to then demote him immediately back to racing balls is savage. And it's so embarrassing as well that when Liam was put in that car, there were a lot of people, a lot of chatter about why isn't Yuki Snowder in that car?

He deserves a chance. He had a lot of experience. He's done everything they asked of him. And there was such a huge outpour of people going, Sonoda deserves a chance. And for Red Bull to go, absolutely not. it's all about Lawson and then barely even give them a chance and go, okay, yeah, yeah, we were wrong. I don't see how Red Bull is anything other than a huge embarrassment for them,

even if Yuki does well or bad, it's embarrassing either way for them. Exactly. Let's get into the first question from P1 Patreon member Katie. Could this be a career ender for Yuki? Now, this is a good question, right? You do wonder, Yuki goes there. he has the same problems as Lawson, which in some ways, you would kind of forgive him for struggling in these first few weekends because he's not had pre-season testing in this car. He hasn't had much time at all in any sort of pre-red Bull. Of course, not this year, but in previous years gone by. Uki doesn't have a huge amount of experience. Of course, he said in the media, it wasn't that hard to drive, yeah.

Oh, I'm all good. Don't worry about me. I'll do the Red Bull seat. he doesn't have enough experience to be able to go he's ready right now. So I don't think it will be a career ender for him. However, they do have other drivers waiting in the wings. Lindblad is one of them that is taking a lot of headlines at the moment for sure. And you do wonder who will be the one to potentially fall as a domino here. I do think that, you know, we now know, and this is what we've spoken. about even before we knew Lawson would be replaced, that, yes, that seat is a bit of a,

well, I would say it lightly, it is a poison chalice, but Yuki can't refuse it. If you want, even on all the evidence we've seen, and we mentioned that, and we'll probably have this debate later about how Lawson does in the V-Carb versus how Yuki were doing the Red Bull, but you absolutely have to take that opportunity. It looks way worse on Yuki Sanoda to refuse a top seat for his career than it is to go into that Red Bull and maybe not be particularly great. Because he's almost got a bit of a buy-in anyway with how bad Lawson has been that even if he does perform not great, everyone will just kind of go, well, we know. We know that car's terrible and no one else can drive it over than the max. So yeah, he has to go for it.

You have to take that opportunity at a big team. For sure. And as long as he does better than P20 in the next two races, then I don't think it can be a career ender for him because he has been really impressive at racing balls. He has that to fall back on. But it's just such a bizarre situation. I didn't think it could get any worse

than when we were discussing Perez. And here we are. Next question, P1PATRI member Sophie. Do we think the timing has anything? to do with the fact it's Yuki's Home Grand Prix. I think it has more to do with Honda and saying, look, well, actually, it's a disaster with Lawson. Get him in. We're paying money for Sunoda to be part of this program. We want him in. Home Grand Prix will look amazing as long as he does pretty well, which I hope for his sake he does. But yeah, for sure, I think that there is, there's got to be

some element of Home Grand Prix, Yuki Sanoda, in a Red Ball there. And I'm sure that I'm sure Honda have also been banging on the drum for years now about having this opportunity for Yuki that they haven't been able to get until this moment. So yeah, I think Japan being the third race of the season has, I was going to say, worked in Yuki's favour. I don't know, we don't know if this is going to be a terrible move. Yeah, was he going to win in the V-carb anyway because it's absolutely amazing? It's huge, it's absolutely enormous publicity for Honda and there's a lot of rumors that Honda actually paid maybe between 10 and 20 million offer of Red Bull in the first place to take Yuki on board. And Red Bull said no. So now after two races...

We'll give you a tenor now because clearly you want him. Exactly. But Honda, the publicity that they'll get from a Japanese driver being in that top team regardless of if we think, is it even the better car right now? to be in that team that won the driver's championship last year and has won the Constructors Championship so many years in a row previously is a massive, massive thing. So yeah, it's going to be huge for Honda and huge for Yuki, like what pressure in your home race to have to deliver in the Red Bull.

I mean, it can't get any worse in terms of the level of pressure for Yuki Sanoda. If he delivers, then it will be quite the occasion. This leads us on quite nicely to our next question from P1 Patreon member, Luca Cousy, what happens if Yuki performs the same? Where do they go? Well, look, I don't think anyone, neither of us had in our predictions that a driver would lose their seat in two races. And if we were, like, forced to pick a driver, it would have been doing.

Not what's gone on here in the Red Bull family. So if Yuki Sanoda has the same struggles, as I kind of mentioned earlier, he does have more excuses in the fact that he's literally been dropped in the car out of nowhere for the Japanese Grand Prix. But then they kind of, I think for Yuki Sanoda, he has more things to save him to keep that seat for at least the season over Liam Lawson. Lawson, I think, was obviously a little bit of a punt. They didn't know exactly how he was going to do. He didn't have the financials to save him. and he didn't really have the public support either. It's not like a Daniel Ricardo situation.

He's massively loved. He's a huge asset to the team. Lawson didn't have that, and he also didn't have serious cash money to save his bacon either. But with Sonoda, obviously Honda, there's ties there, and there's bigger conversations being had. So for me, I think Yuki will be given more time, even if he does struggle in Japan.

Yeah, I agree. We're in an absolutely insane situation now, where even if Yuki manages to qualify like P10 or something in that Red Bull, people will be calling him the greatest of all time because it is... You will. You say people, you mean you. Absolutely. Yeah.

But it's so true because Lawson, because the benchmark is literally 20th. He is in such a fortunate position in a way. And then it is where does he go from here? it's a great opportunity and I do feel very bad for Lawson because he just needed more time and he's not going to get that but Yuki surely will even if Yuki Sunoda does qualify 17th, 18th in the first race you know he'll have another race and then another race and then he goes to Bahrain where like we said he's had lots of testing before and things like that and so there's much more of an opportunity for him to perform and surely surely there's no

no one waiting in the wings already if he doesn't perform that that would be insane to basically just be a two race at a time situation where literally they just throw anyone in alongside match to staff are in yeah exactly madness dania ricardo you know there's plenty of names that are being flown around right now question from p1 pitch remember captain obf's 3 420 could this also be considered good news for leum yes he was humiliated in the red ball but now he will be in a car that's easier to drive and comes with less pressure. I think it's a good and bad thing for him. Bad being that as Captain Obs mentioned, Captain Obvious,

that he was humiliated in those two races, for sure. It's not easy in the slightest to see your teammate up at the front and you're toodling around at the back, especially last in qualifying. It is almost kind of like cutting your losses quickly here with this one. Like it's not the end of Lawson's career by any stretch. If he pops in a P6 in qualifying, in Japan, everyone will go, oh, oh, yeah, Lawson was good. Oh, God, yeah, forgot. We were all

hyping him up last year. He's not the worst. He's not Sluzen, which is the worst slander name I've ever heard in my entire life. That is the worst name ever. But yeah, it's just one of the most bizarre situations I've seen in modern Formula One, to be honest with you, how quickly they're making these kind of cutthroat decisions. But I think for Liam, yeah, he probably remembers how the racing balls kind of drives. So I don't think it will be a massive step for him. He's probably there and just be like, oh, wow.

Okay, so the front end isn't just literally on insane sensitivity, like I'm playing Call of Duty on 100. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Lawson actually does very well in the V-Carp, and I don't think many people will be. It almost wouldn't be a shock for Lawson to do a good job, because he was, you know, on a similar pace to Yuki. and look what Yuki's been doing in that V-Cab this year, has been doing amazingly well.

So it wouldn't be a huge surprise. Obviously, this isn't the way he'd want of this situation to end with Red Bull. And there's always, even if he goes into that V-Cab and does well, unfortunately, even if you believe, and I think I do, that it is unfair that this is the case, but it will always be a kind of black mark on your career that you've gone into a top team and not performed,

even though it is against Max Verstappen in that car that so many others have failed. You look at Pierre Gazley, he literally won a race for Alphiare at the time. You know, yeah, he's got the move to Alpine, but would a Mercedes or McLaren or a Ferrari take him with that knowledge that he didn't perform, at Red Bull, some will say yes, but there'll always be that kind of doubt in the back of your mind,

even if it is maybe unfair, because they went up against Max and we know how no one has performed in that car alongside Max. I think for cases like Gassley, he's had enough time to show that that was sort of an anomaly. I think with, it sort of slows down your career. That's how I see it in the fact that Lawson at this stage. You have to build your way up like an Alex Albin as well. Yeah. And you'll need several years in a team to showcase that you do have the minerals, as I like to call it, and then you might be able to get a top drive again. So yeah, it's tough, but for Lawson, he hasn't even had a full season in Formula One. So are we really surprised on paper that he has struggled? I mean, we put him in P8 in the championship. I saw some people going,

P8, guys, that's a bit harsh on him. He's going to be easy top five. And he's been right at the bottom. So has there ever been a more insane 13 races than anyone's Formula One career Of like joining, setting the world the light Everyone's saying you should be in the sport Then not getting a seat Then getting the V-Cub seat halfway through a season Then getting the Red Bull seat, then getting back to V-Cab

In 13 races is absolutely insane He's had like a whole Formula One career in 13 races Yeah, it's been a roller coaster I think he will just like the stability of hopefully staying at racing balls if he can pick himself up. It'll be interesting to see how Lawson and Hadjar compare because Sonoda, we did say, as much as Lawson was comparable at times, Sunoda did have the upper hand. And Hadjar has shown some potential already since joining. So can Hadjar get the upper hand there at Racing Bulls? That's yet to be seen.

Now, question, this one will be interesting from P-on-Patryor at Drip. Could Daniel Ricardo return? If Yuki Sanoda struggles. I'm not rolling it out of this point. I think Mika Hakenen could come back from his sabbatical. This is, honestly, anybody could have a go. Tom Bellingham's in by Singapore. I've said it once.

I'll say it 100 times. I'm happily going to campaign for that. I mean, technically I couldn't do Weston-Lawson at China qualifying, so. No, you literally couldn't. Although you'd probably get disqualified by going the wrong way around the circuit or something. But back to Daniel Ricardo. I'm not rolling it out. I really am not because Danny Rick is the kind of last guy that had any idea how to drive a Red Bull in a really good fashion and to be somewhat similar to Max. I know that he obviously, Max got the upper hand in that relationship. But I'm not saying it. I'm not categorically saying anything to do with the Red Bull driver line up. So a small slither of hope, I reckon. I can't see it happening, but then I could not see it happening, him joining Alfa Tauri and replacing Nick DeVries.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you said to me, didn't you on the podcast, there is no way he was going to go to the B team. Yeah, and he did. He came back and never say never because Red Bull are desperate now. It's such an embarrassing situation to just be churning through driver after driver at this team. And if you keep, doesn't perform well, maybe there is a part of their mind that, you know, Christian Horner, we all know, loved him and really wanted him to get in that car anyway in the first place and succeed, that maybe they do just go, well, actually, how you do in a V carb has absolutely no relation to how you do in a Red Bull anyway, because we've seen that. These drivers that are going into the seat alongside Maxis Heppin are not bad drivers. they've been incredibly hyped.

Perez was so hyped up going into that seat. He didn't have a Formula One seat. He was so hyped up. He just won that amazing Grand Prix at Sakhir. And then, you know, it all falls apart. So maybe their approach now is it almost doesn't even matter how you do in those kind of performances of other teams. It's just how you can perform in that red. Bull alongside Max Sophan and will it suit your style?

It's such a weird thing to think about, isn't it? Because it's supposed to be, oh, the second team, you lead into Red Bull. But the characteristics are so fundamentally different between the two teams and the two cars that it is almost like they're getting themselves ready on a chopping block. Such a mess now. Like it's a junior team where they're literally leading their drivers to slaughter and their careers. because the amount of drivers' careers that they've ended because they haven't been able to drive that Red Bull is wild. And it is of course slightly down, not Max's fault, but it is a, you know, that is the ending, that is the end result of having Max Verstappen, who likes a certain car in a certain way.

And I'm not sort of disrespecting that. Max is one of the greatest drivers we've ever seen in the sport. But that's just the way the team's focus will be whilst Max is there. So it, yeah, it's just, I can't get my head around it, Tommy. It's a crazy situation. It's also very late in Sweden right now. But I think even if I did have a solid amount of sleep and haven't been on set for 12 hours, I would also still be very similar to this. So what are we going to say, Tommy?

Because I feel like your final thoughts need to be very coherent. So let's dive into them. My final thoughts are just how I'm still in shock, but I'm absolutely fascinated to see this happen because I wanted Yuki Snoda in that seat anyway. I really wanted to see how we'd get on, and we're now going to see it. And it's just an absolutely mad, mad, mad, mad situation that we're here already,

but we are going to get kind of a like-for-like comparison. And, well, there's also talk that it might even rain for Suzuki, so oh my word, we could be in for some more madness as well. Now, let's play a little game. We're going to do it. I know. Where does Yuki Snoda qualify? I know.

You're going to say that. Where does Yuki Snoda qualify for the Japanese Grand Prix? I'll go first. P12. Oh my God, I was going to say P12. Like, genuinely I was going to say P12. Oh my God. Get out my head, you dirty dog.

What are you going to say? Come on. Slightly better or slightly worse after I've gone for P12? I had P12 in my mind, so I'm going to go, I'll go P11. P11, just misses out on Q3. I believe. I love how P11 is believing. That is absolutely wild.

Does that make Paris the greatest of all time? Potentially. Maybe. Anyway, thank you, everybody, for watching and listening to this rather crazy, strange iPad stuck to a sideways bin podcast. Thankfully, we managed to get it recorded. Big shout out to Alex Jakes once again for allowing. this to happen. Otherwise, you would have had the worst audio quality in the history of the land.

Can't wait to see how it unfolds. On a human level, this is absolutely savage and horrible for Liam Lawson, but from an entertainment, just an entertainment perspective, as you said, having a comparison to drivers you've always wanted to have, it's like playing the F1 game and just chucking drivers in a team and then just seeing who wins. That is literally what Rebel are right now. Yeah, they really are. And it might not be the end of this story. So thank you. you everybody we'll see you very soon lots of love take care sweet dreams goodbye goodbye goodbye from sweden and my chore is to empty your bins because bins are very much on my mind right now p1 is a stack production and part of the a cast creative network