Red Bull’s most logical – yet very unlikely

If Sergio Perez indeed gets pushed out by Red Bull – or decides to jump himself, which seems the more unlikely scenario – after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, all signs point to Liam Lawson as the name that will be prioritised in the conversation between Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and the company’s shareholders on Monday after the race.

And Lawson is a solid driver. The word in the paddock is that Red Bull bosses value his ability to perform under pressure, something he’s proven successfully both times he was thrust into an F1 race seat mid-season. Lawson comes across as someone who wouldn’t overthink nor overexert himself under any circumstance, which does sound like a great quality if you’re picking a driver to share a garage with Max Verstappen. Lawson is self-assured, level-headed, maybe even – in a good way – uncomplicated, or at least that’s what you hear from the Red Bull camp.

“Honestly, I go about a race how I have always done, and it is not something I am not trying to do a certain thing or act in a certain way to show them anything,” the New Zealander said, when quizzed on that subject on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. “I am just trying to do the best job I can in the car so mentally it is always how I’ve been – and it is up to them to decide whether they like that or don’t like that.

“I’ve been in this junior team a long time and this is the end of my sixth year in Red Bull, and that pressure comes from the second you arrive. I was 16 years old and I never felt pressure like that and I never knew that it could be like that going into a racing season. I think that is one of the benefits of being with Red Bull for so long is that, in a way, it builds you for Formula 1. Having that experience of that pressure on you from a really young age, it would be tough, so I am grateful to have had that for so many years.”

And yet, none of that changes the fact Sunday will mark Lawson’s 11th full start in F1. His CV otherwise includes runner-up in the DTM, runner-up in Super Formula (like Pierre Gasly) and third place in his second year in Formula 2.

That’s… decent. But, frankly, not better than decent.

Not that Tsunoda’s junior career was a stunning one either, but you can argue it was a bit more impressive if you consider that his third place in F2 came not in his second year in the series like for Lawson – but in his second year on the European racing scene, full stop. All-new tracks, completely different culture.