Verstappen highlights ‘where focus needs to be’ as he’s quizzed on Lawson/Tsunoda seat swap

Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull’s focus needs to be on improving their car in order for both sides of the garage to deliver amid the team’s decision to swap Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda just two races into the season.

After being promoted to the main team off the back of two super-sub stints for Racing Bulls in 2023 and 2024, Lawson faced a difficult start to his time with the Milton Keynes-based outfit, having crashed during Round 1 in Australia before qualifying at the back of the grid one week later in China.

READ MORE: Lawson ‘surprised’ by early Red Bull demotion as he vows to ‘prove I belong here’ amid Racing Bulls return

Speculation soon mounted over the New Zealander’s future, and it was confirmed in the days after Shanghai that Lawson would return to Racing Bulls from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards while Tsunoda would step up to Red Bull.

Asked to give his take on the seat swap during Thursday’s media day at Suzuka, Verstappen responded: “I’ve discussed everything with the team, so the team knows what I think about everything, and I think that is enough, to be honest.”

In terms of how much support he has offered to Tsunoda in welcoming the Japanese driver to the team, the World Champion said: “At the end of the day, it’s not even about that. I’ve known Yuki a long time because he has been a part of the Red Bull family. It’s a very natural progression.

“Everyone always does their very best to be successful in Formula 1 and everyone deserves their chances, and I think the team has been working quite well with him to prepare him in the best way possible to start here.”

READ MORE: Tsunoda shares Red Bull’s expectations of him ahead of debut as he assesses chances of home podium

“Give him a drink and yeah, he gets really fun,” Verstappen jokingly added of Tsunoda’s character. “No, he’s a really great guy. He’s been in F1 now for a while, he’s built up quite a bit of experience. He’s very passionate and that’s very nice to see.”

Verstappen – who also confirmed that he had spoken to Lawson – was further quizzed on whether he has confidence that Tsunoda can back him up as a team mate and help in terms of strategy going forwards.

“For me, it’s not about that, to be honest,” the 27-year-old commented. “We need to just improve our car and that is where the focus needs to be. That is what I have said also to the team, and that is also what I am working on.”

Verstappen is hopeful that any improvements made to the RB21 will prove beneficial for the whole squad.

READ MORE: ‘He has the right attitude to cope with it’ – Perez backs Tsunoda to perform following Red Bull promotion

“Naturally, I think as a team, you want both cars to use the full potential,” he conceded. “For us, that has been a bit of a difficulty for whatever reason. We always try to do the best we can. I always try to do the best I can as well with my car.

“I will continue to do so, but I think in general we just need to focus on finding a bit more performance from the car, making it a bit more predictable. I think that will help everyone.”