Harsh criticism of Red Bull: 'Then why are you keeping him? I don't understand'
Red Bull Contentpool
Exclusive
- Ludo van Denderen
Yuki Tsunoda, to his own dismay, was passed over to fill in the vacant seat at Red Bull Racing after Sergio Perez was pushed aside by the Austrians. Red Bull chose to put Liam Lawson next to Max Verstappen, a decision Guenther Steiner does not understand very well.
Barely 11 Grand Prix weekends has Liam Lawson behind him, but already the New Zealander is up for a promotion. Next season, the 22-year-old driver, developed by Red Bull, will be given a shot to try and keep up with Max Verstappen.
"I don't think that was the perfect choice," Steiner said of the decision to pass on Tsunoda, during an exclusive interview with GPblog. "Everything was a compromise. It's one of the choices. I'm in the opinion maybe to know that [now speaking about Yuki] should have been given the chance. I don't say deserved because you don't deserve anything, I always say."
"But would have been a better bet, say we put him in the car one year, and see how he's doing. If he's not good, let him go. Now he's sitting another year in the Racing Bull, and it’s not motivational for the guy as well."
Surprise at Tsunoda staying on
Steiner then wonders why Red Bull kept Tsunoda at all. "He's doing more of the same, but he's not exposed to do, to make the step. It's like he's not given the opportunity, so why keep him around? I don't know."
The former team boss thinks for a moment and then says: "His fifth year in the junior team, right? Is it a junior team, or what is it?"
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!