He’s shown remarkable potential to become a world champion, even though Red Bull is facing a few challenges at the moment.
Performance-wise, Horner has expressed his desire for me to stay as close to Max as I possibly can. There are races where I might be able to contribute to the overall strategy, but he assured me that if I find myself ahead of Max, there won’t necessarily be a call to switch places just to let Max get the win.
Lawson, after being bumped up from Red Bull’s second team for the 2025 season, has since been moved back to Racing Bulls following struggles in the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix. In Melbourne, he qualified 18th and ended up crashing out. In China, things didn’t go much better as he qualified last for both the sprint and the main race, finishing 14th and 12th in those events.
Interestingly, Verstappen seemed to disagree with Lawson’s demotion, showing support by ‘liking’ an Instagram post by former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde, who called it a “panic move.”
Tsunoda, who’s been with Red Bull’s secondary team since he started his F1 journey in 2021, mentioned that he hasn’t had a chance to chat with Verstappen since taking Lawson’s spot.
“It’s interesting because I mentioned some time ago that he behaves differently on and off the track,” Tsunoda noted.
He added, “I’m not really worried about how our relationship evolves. I have clear goals and probably a good sense of how he races and thinks.”
With his home grand prix approaching on Sunday, Tsunoda expressed contentment if he could manage a top 10 finish.
“Of course, I’d love to aim for points or even a podium,” Tsunoda said. “But realistically, getting accustomed to a new car with just a few practice sessions, that’s a tall order. Honestly, scoring points and finishing in the top 10 would make me really happy.”
For those interested, you can catch the full Tsunoda interview on 5 Live Formula 1 this Thursday at 8:00 PM BST.
