‘Drive fast, Make friends’- Yuki Tsunoda's statement or a direct dig at Liam Lawson

Red Bull’s new recruit, Yuki Tsunoda, has released a statement just before making his full-time debut for the Austrian team at the Japanese Grand Prix. The last week has been complete drama in Formula 1, with the news swirling out of the Red Bull camp over Lawson’s future in the team. Liam Lawson, the young debutant who just raced two races for Red Bull, has been demoted to VCARB due to poor performance.

The Kiwi driver had a huge accident in Australia, and in China, he finished in P15, starting P20. This was not expected from him, as he was preferred over Yuki Tsunoda because of his pressure-handling abilities. Now it is clear that Red Bull made a wrong decision in choosing him over Tsunoda, and before it gets too late, Red Bull decided to swap the drivers in their team.

Yuki Tsunoda will get his much-deserved Red Bull seat at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, which is also his home grand prix. The Japanese fans will be happy and will all rally behind Yuki and Red Bull at Suzuka. Yuki’s form is outstanding, as he was the fastest driver for Red Bull next to Max Verstappen. According to Helmut Marko’s comments, Yuki Tsunoda will likely get a full-season chance with the senior Red Bull team.

This is also a huge chance for the young racer to prove himself before every other team on the grid and secure a seat for the 2026 season. Tsunoda outpaced Lawson and Isack Hadjar in the first two races of the season, and that is why Red Bull management has chosen him for the Number 2 spot. He will now be the new teammate of Max Verstappen and is expected to perform better than Liam Lawson, as he has more experience driving a Red Bull car since the F1 2021 season. 

Yuki Tsunoda's statement or a dig at Lawsom?

“I came here to drive fast & make friends. You can do both.”
-Yuki Tsunoda pic.twitter.com/dcJF0m4S71

— Some Queer (@HLSIII) March 27, 2025

Lawson’s former teammate Yuki has now released a statement before his full-time debut, and he altered a little bit of Lawson’s statement. Yuki Tsunoda said, “I came here to drive fast and make friends. You can do both.” This is an indirect dig at Liam Lawson, who previously said, “I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win,” following his feud with Alonso and Pérez last year. The Suzuka circuit is the perfect place to prove himself, and Yuki will be looking to deliver in his first race with Red Bull. Let’s wish the much-deserved Japanese driver all the best for his new chapter.

Also Read: Ranking the top 5 Reasons behind Red Bull axing Liam Lawson