If Sergio Perez certainly will get pushed out by Purple Bull – or decides to leap himself, which appears the extra unlikely situation – after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, all indicators level to Liam Lawson because the identify that can be prioritised within the dialog between Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and the corporate’s shareholders on Monday after the race.
And Lawson is a stable driver. The phrase within the paddock is that Purple Bull bosses worth his skill to carry out below stress, one thing he is confirmed efficiently each instances he was thrust into an F1 race seat mid-season. Lawson comes throughout as somebody who would not overthink nor overexert himself below any circumstance, which does sound like an important high quality in the event you’re choosing a driver to share a storage with Max Verstappen. Lawson is confident, level-headed, possibly even – in a great way – uncomplicated, or a minimum of that is what you hear from the Purple Bull camp.
“Truthfully, I’m going a few race how I’ve all the time executed, and it isn’t one thing I’m not making an attempt to do a sure factor or act in a sure method to present them something,” the New Zealander stated, when quizzed on that topic on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. “I’m simply making an attempt to do the very best job I can within the automotive so mentally it’s all the time how I’ve been – and it’s as much as them to determine whether or not they like that or don’t like that.
“I’ve been on this junior workforce a very long time and that is the tip of my sixth yr in Purple Bull, and that stress comes from the second you arrive. I used to be 16 years previous and I by no means felt stress like that and I by no means knew that it might be like that going right into a racing season. I feel that is likely one of the advantages of being with Purple Bull for therefore lengthy is that, in a means, it builds you for Components 1. Having that have of that stress on you from a very younger age, it will be robust, so I’m grateful to have had that for therefore a few years.”
And but, none of that modifications the very fact Sunday will mark Lawson’s eleventh full begin in F1. His CV in any other case consists of runner-up within the DTM, runner-up in Tremendous Components (like Pierre Gasly) and third place in his second yr in Components 2.
That is… first rate. However, frankly, not higher than first rate.
Not that Tsunoda’s junior profession was a surprising one both, however you may argue it was a bit extra spectacular in the event you take into account that his third place in F2 got here not in his second yr within the sequence like for Lawson – however in his second yr on the European racing scene, full cease. All-new tracks, utterly totally different tradition.
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Group, Liam Lawson, RB F1 Group
Picture by: Purple Bull Content material Pool
Then there’s the very fact Tsunoda is ending up his fourth yr in F1 with Purple Bull’s junior workforce, and that he is outscored and outqualified his final three team-mates, together with race winner Daniel Ricciardo.
However within the F1 paddock, it’s extensively perceived that it is the man with 10 races below his belt who’s the favorite to get the nod from Purple Bull – relatively than the man who has been the quicker of the 2 in a lot of the qualifying periods and races they’ve executed as team-mates.
In the event you’re Tsunoda, it have to be actually puzzling and irritating.
And puzzled and pissed off is precisely what he appears to be – a minimum of when dealing with the media. Perhaps just a little bit misplaced as properly when listening to questions on whether or not he “genuinely” feels that he has “an opportunity of getting that seat” – questions by which the phrasing itself implies that there is good purpose for him to not “genuinely really feel” that means. On Thursday in Abu Dhabi, when dealing with the media on the pen, he actually needed to assume onerous earlier than offering solutions to a number of the questions.
“The narrative exterior within the paddock is that your path to that workforce is blocked,” journalists inform him. “Is {that a} truthful evaluation?” And Tsunoda’s solutions recommend he himself does not know all that rather more than these on the “exterior”.
“I didn’t… I imply, to begin with, we do not speak [often],” he replied, sounding virtually confused – maybe not by the query itself, however about the way it’s attainable for somebody to imagine that his path to Purple Bull may even theoretically be “blocked”.
“We did not see [each other] a lot,” he added. “I do not know, however I do not assume so. I do not know, as a result of I met Christian, and he stated, you already know, ‘I regulate you’, no matter, you already know, stated he did not neglect [about me] or one thing like that, I suppose. So I do not assume… I would not say, essentially, I utterly received blocked.”
Then he added: “I hope.”
Yuki Tsunoda, Visa Money App RB F1 Group, talks to Christian Horner, Group Principal, Purple Bull Racing and Purple Bull GmbH co-owner Mark Mateschitz
Picture by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Pictures
Lots has been fabricated from his emotional management. Tsunoda is shouty on the radio, he allegedly lets feelings take over and loses management. At the least, that’s the stamp on him that emerged in yr one – and, okay, there’s no denying a few of his broadcasted messages do sound a bit noisy nonetheless. However is he the one one? And did not Verstappen, the man who the Purple Bull bosses measure all their drivers in opposition to, virtually utterly lose it in Hungary earlier this yr, first lashing out at his race engineer after which crashing into Hamilton?
Feelings do take over typically. It occurs to the very best of us, does not it? However solely in Tsunoda’s case is it seen because the rule relatively than the exception – no matter how usually he truly permits himself to lift his voice after urgent the radio button.
“I’m certain I’ve stepped up in that space,” is his response. “And yeah, in the event that they stated that final yr, it is sensible, however this yr, I stepped up rather a lot, I feel. And there is not many events that I went full uncontrolled, to be sincere. I do not assume so. In the event that they stated that, I do not assume… to be sincere, for me a minimum of, that is not true, actually.
“And I noticed a number of drivers getting uncontrolled, and they do not get picked up a lot [in the broadcast]. So yeah, and I do not actually really feel essentially that I used to be being uncontrolled [in] a whole lot of races.”
You’d most likely want to return to final yr’s Mexican Grand Prix to seek out an instance of Tsunoda actually shedding an excellent outcome due to his mood. As he revealed later, he truly wished to show some extent in that race: ranging from the again of the grid due to the engine penalty, he virtually put himself ready to problem his then team-mate Ricciardo – however received pissed off as a result of he simply couldn’t cross the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
He crashed and shouted on the radio. However that very mistake got here out of anger in direction of the world, which stored insisting that if Ricciardo “beats Tsunoda persistently” he’s going to finish up being Verstappen’s team-mate once more. Curiously, there was no provision for what ought to occur if the other occurs. And when the other did occur, the world simply determined that “it’s most likely not the identical Ricciardo anymore”.
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Group VCARB 01
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Pictures
Tsunoda had outperformed Nyck de Vries earlier than that – just for the paddock to conclude that the Dutchman isn’t F1 materials. Regardless of all of the earlier speak about how, with all his expertise in different classes, he must be the chief of the Faenza workforce right away. And proper now, Tsunoda continues to be comfortably forward of Lawson of their head-to-head qualifying battle. He scored extra factors as properly.
In Liam’s case, there’s speak about “trajectory” and “potential” – and there’s room to enhance. It will possibly’t be attainable that we’ve seen all he’s received. However, by that very same logic, there isn’t any assure that his final potential is anyplace close to sufficient to match Verstappen. However since he is calm and confident, he most likely will not let that turn into a further stress. However, if he is simply slower, what is the level of not worrying about it?
On the finish of the day, even when Tsunoda is just too emotional, he retains outqualifying and outscoring one team-mate after one other. Perhaps not “destroying” them, however beating them comfortably.
“[From performances compared] to my team-mate is sort of clear, and…what I’ve executed this yr is sort of clear that I ought to get an opportunity,” he stated. “However I do not know. It’s as much as them. Components 1 can be a political sport as properly. And something can occur. I am certain partly the final race right here is sort of necessary. However for me, I really feel like each race to date has been an important race as a result of, began [from the] first race, preventing with Daniel, [had I lost to] Daniel, I’d be the particular person most likely proper now sitting on the couch.”
There have been errors, naturally. He crashed in Q2 in Mexico, ruining not solely his qualifying however his workforce’s possibilities to attain massive factors that weekend. Which is fairly inexcusable – particularly when all eyes are in your battle with a brand new team-mate. It’s tough to not agree with Helmut Marko and see it as proof that Tsunoda isn’t actually good at dealing with stress. And his ill-fated try the subsequent day to regain all that was misplaced in a single nook could be taken as an indication of immaturity.
However that Mexican weekend doesn’t say something extra about Tsunoda than that he most likely isn’t prepared for a prime seat – regardless of making progress by his years in F1. He was not the very best accessible possibility this yr – if Purple Bull had actually wished a confirmed prime driver within the second automotive, Carlos Sainz would not have discovered himself settling for a Williams deal.
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Pictures
“Purple Bull had me accessible for six months, and so they did not decide me,” Sainz stated in the newest F1 podcast. “I feel it is as a result of I merely do not match into the kind of driver that they want proper now in Purple Bull. And I am utterly nice with that. If something, they’re making me a favour.”
And that is precisely the issue Purple Bull is making an attempt to unravel. The perfect second driver must tick too many containers. He’s received to be fast, however most likely cannot be too fast on the similar time – to not disturb Verstappen too usually or take away factors from him within the championship, even when solely in a few races a yr. He’s received to be bold, however most likely not bold sufficient to not upset the camp. After which calm, self-confident and constant as properly.
Sainz just isn’t the kind of driver they’re searching for.
That driver is not Tsunoda both. That driver additionally is not Lawson. Even much less so, given his inexperience. That driver, maybe, does not actually exist.
But when Horner and Marko are actually discovering themselves needing to decide on between the 2 RB drivers, it’s simply received to be Tsunoda. As a result of throwing Lawson into the storage subsequent to Verstappen is solely a repeat of the identical mistake that they had made many instances earlier than. A season in F1 wasn’t sufficient for Daniil Kvyat to be promoted to the senior workforce in 2015. A season and a bit wasn’t sufficient for Gasly a few years later. And the dozen races he received within the first half of 2019 proved to not be sufficient for Alex Albon.
Going the identical route with Lawson whereas having somebody within the system who over 4 years has confirmed he can study and continually enhance, and who did beat all his team-mates within the final two years, simply doesn’t make sense.
Rewarding Tsunoda for all his work certain appears the one logical option to make proper now. And it is virtually as if that is why it most likely will not occur.
Watch: Threats, Lies & Backstabbing: The Verstappen vs Russell Feud Defined – F1 Abu Dhabi Media Day
On this article
Oleg Karpov
Components 1
Yuki Tsunoda
Purple Bull Racing
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