Horner explains why Red Bull 'ripped plaster' off Lawson

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has stated the 'plaster had to be ripped off' when it made a call to demote Liam Lawson to Racing Bulls.

Horner, along with advisor Helmut Marko, and other board members, including majority owner Chalerm Yoovidhya, took the painful decision to drop Lawson after a miserable start to his Red Bull career in Australia and China.

It was determined that Lawson did not possess the necessary skill set to handle the problematic RB21 and develop it as swiftly as is required for the team to be a threat in this year's constructors' championship, and for Verstappen to become a five-time champion.

Refusing to echo Marko's words that hiring Lawson as the replacement for Sergio Perez was "a mistake", speaking to Sky Sports F1, Horner said: "With hindsight, I think we just asked too much too soon from Liam.

"We've got a lot of work to do with the car. And unfortunately, sometimes you've got to be cruel to be kind, but he's not out of Formula 1. He's gone back to the Racing Bulls, and we still believe in him as a talent for the future.

"And making use of Yuki's experience will, hopefully, enable the engineers to make faster progress with the car. That knowledge is very useful.

"This season is all going to be about a development race, and that's why we took the decision early. I think Liam would have got there, but it might have taken five, six, seven races, or half the season. We don't have that amount of time.

"So after discussing it internally, we decided, right, we've got to rip the plaster off now and get on with it. That's what we chose to do, and Yuki has jumped in and done a good job initially."

Tsunoda - from high pressure to a positive

Horner was perfectly satisfied with Tsunoda's performance in first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, albeit a circuit he knows well given his many previous outings around Suzuka.

Nevertheless, Tsunoda was calm and composed, gave good feedback over the radio, and finished a tenth-of-a-second off the pace of Verstappen, with Horner confirming they were both on the same engine mode.

"It was certainly a good start for Yuki," said Horner. "He settled into the car pretty well. Obviously, it's quite a different feel to what he is probably used to, but I thought he settled in, and gave very good feedback. It was very clear, very concise.

"But it's what he needs to do. He's now in his fifth season in Formula 1, so he's got quite a lot of experience behind him.

"He's certainly made a high-pressured situation a positive start, and he just needs to build on that now through the rest of the weekend."