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Reports of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda getting the nod over Liam Lawson have led to a lot of backlash for Red Bull from the fans. Lawson has been very impressive in the opportunities that he's got this season. The New Zealander has shown an improved level of performance every time he's got in the car.
Having said that, Red Bull seems to have gone for the duo of Tsunoda and Ricciardo while keeping Lawson as the reserve driver.
While many would feel that the decision is off the mark and the outcry on social media surely indicates that as well, the decision does make a lot of sense.
Let's break it down driver-wise as to why the decision for each one of them was the right one.
Red Bull wants to evaluate Daniel Ricciardo before replacing Sergio Perez
Daniel Ricciardo is in pole position to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull. There's not much doubt about it if we listen to how both Christian Horner and Helmut Marko talk about the Australian. The injury to Ricciardo who subsequently missed these many races has meant that the plan to completely evaluate the driver has fallen by the wayside.
If Ricciardo had done the entire second half of the season and impressed the Red Bull brass, there is a very high possibility that he would have replaced Sergio Perez next season. Unfortunately, with Ricciardo injuring himself in Zandvoort, he has been unable to do enough to prove how good he is right now.
Sure, there are many who feel AlphaTauri is the team where youngsters prove themselves as possible future Red Bull drivers. That's exactly what Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, and even Daniel Ricciardo did early in their careers. There is a tiny fact that fans forget though and it is this little detail that the Faenza-based squad is still owned by the Austrian brand.
If Red Bull wants to change its policy and use AlphaTauri as the proving ground for Daniel Ricciardo then it certainly can. At the end of the day, the Austrian team is facing a major dilemma. Verstappen's current teammate is performing at an unacceptable level and hence there is a desire to change him.
Unfortunately, placing another elite driver alongside Max Verstappen is almost counterproductive for Red Bull. This is where Daniel Ricciardo has come in as the ideal replacement who still needs to prove himself.
That is the only reason why Ricciardo finds himself at AlphaTauri and that is why it makes utmost sense to see him drive for that team.
Yuki Tsunoda has shown incremental improvement
Talking about Yuki Tsunoda, he arguably has the most solid case out of the three drivers. The Japanese has been very impressive this season. He started the season a step ahead of Nyck de Vries but even when the Dutch driver was shuffled, he's sustained that level.
While there is certainly a level of hubris around his recent performances, that has been primarily because of major misfortune. Just looking at the last two races in which Yuki could not even get going makes it hard to judge how he's performing.
Overall though, despite multiple teammate changes, Yuki has still been the faster driver as compared to Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo.
Yuki might not be in contention for a Red Bull seat anytime soon but he certainly acts as a solid benchmark that Ricciardo will have to beat next season to get a promotion to the big leagues.
A case of fool's gold with Liam Lawson?
It's hard to disagree if someone points out that Helmut Marko jumped the ship and made the decision to hire Nyck de Vries too early. Based on a single race Red Bull decided that the Dutch driver was someone worth banking on. As we could see later in 2022, it was a horribly wrong call.
De Vries should not have been in an AlphaTauri and Yuki Tsunoda completely exposed him. Looking at Liam Lawson, what works for him is a consistent three-race run for him where he has shown that he does not make many mistakes. At the same time what does not work for him is the fact that his credible benchmark in Yuki Tsunoda has had a fortune from hell and not really competed in the last two races.
Is Lawson a good driver? Looking at his junior career, he certainly is. Is he the next Oscar Piastri or someone that Red Bull cannot afford to lose? If we look at it closely you'll have to say no. Lawson could prove to be a strong driver for AlphaTauri but he's not the talent that has sparkled more than anybody else in the junior categories.
What we all need to do at this point is understand Red Bull's point of view in all of this. The team is entirely focused on finding the right dance partner for Max Verstappen at the senior team.
That is the priority right now and having Liam Lawson in that car does not accomplish the goal whatsoever.
