Max Verstappen has given a candid response to questions over the demotion of Liam Lawson at Red Bull.
Max Verstappen has his third new team-mate in less than a year with the arrival of Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull.
Making his debut at this weekend’s Japanese GP, Tsuonda will race for Red Bull on home-soil. adding further pressure to his race.
The struggles of Liam Lawson centred on the New-Zealander failing to adapt to the unique handling characteristics of the RB21.
An open ended response from Max Verstappen
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Verstappen was coy on his thoughts regarding the decision to drop Lawson.
“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.”
When asked how much support he would offer Tsunoda, Verstappen said “its not even about that” due to His new team-mate’s experience.
“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.”
“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.”
Improving the car the main priority for Max Verstappen
Verstappen stated when asked if Tsunoda could help him in races that improving was the only goal at this stage.
For me, it’s not about that, to be honest. 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.”
“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.”
