The case of Lawson's dismissal is shocking not only because it's unprecedented in the murky world of Formula 1 for someone to be dismissed after just two races. Rather, it's because of the underlying message.
New Zealand is anything but a motorsport nation, and Liam Lawson is anything but a supertalent. That's debatable, because they're FACTS. We've already seen real examples of both, and they look very different from the (former) Red Bull Racing driver and his background. Helmut Marko and Christian Horner knew this, too, as they closely observed how Lawson is constantly being surpassed in every single metric by Yuki Tsunoda, who has now taken his place. And not just by him, but also by every teammate who suffers at Racing Bulls. Alongside him, every request, every wish, every sigh is considered and honored. He's changing as a driver, he's changing as a person, submitting himself to everything to please. Yet it's not clear that he'll get the Red Bull seat...
By the way, to avoid any misunderstandings, I don't think Tsunoda is an RBR-level driver at all, someone you can expect to win races or actively participate in the fight for the Constructors' World Championship. But he's definitely better suited to the task than Lawson. It's just that damn money. They don't even allow the illusion that anything else matters to them when selecting a driver. Or even sadder: They don't even allow the illusion THAT ANYTHING ELSE MATTERS.
Because if it mattered (at a company with potential like Red Bull, I don't understand this whole line of thinking), they would surely put Fernando Alonso, who has been dormant for years and deserves a much better fate, next to Max Verstappen, a driver with whom the team could catapult itself into another dimension, both historically and economically. If they had even the slightest respect for the sporting value of Formula 1, they would say: "We, Red Bull Racing, are giving the fans what they've always wanted. Screw it, let's rock 'n' roll!" Because they could afford it.
It's true, they could also simply ruin the talented young drivers in series and keep producing new Liam Lawsons every year. It's sad that they're taking advantage of this right.
Photo: Planet F1
