Horner hands Tsunoda clear message over Red Bull promotion

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has insisted that the outfit's "priorities" are Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson, reducing Yuki Tsunoda's chances of a promotion.

RacingNews365 recently learnt that Tsunoda will be Red Bull's reserve driver this year, a role which had been Lawson's prior to his promotion. 

For the first time, Lawson holds a full-time F1 seat for the upcoming campaign with Red Bull, following 11 appearances across two seasons for its sister team. 

He was chosen to replace Sergio Perez at the Milton Keynes-based team over Tsunoda, despite the Japanese driver having consistently finished ahead of Lawson in the last six races of 2024.

Racing for Red Bull is a huge moment in Lawson's career; however, history has shown that young drivers often struggle alongside Verstappen. 

It is not uncommon for young drivers to quickly be replaced at Red Bull, with Verstappen often being too dominant. 

With the experience of Tsunoda now in the wings as the team's reserve driver, he would be available for Red Bull should it want to replace Lawson if the driver encounters difficulties. 

Tsunoda's hopes will likely not be high though, with Horner not looking just yet at who could be used as a replacement.

"Yuki, obviously, is in the [Red Bull driver] pool," Horner told select media including RacingNews365. 

"Our priorities are our race drivers. But Yuki is a very talented driver, and we'll be keeping a close eye on him and Isack Hadjar as well."

Ahead of Lawson's first Red Bull race, both Horner and advisor Helmut Marko have stressed that the 22-year-old must focus on himself rather than Verstappen.

When asked what Lawson's target for the season is, Horner answered: "Just score as many points as he possible can."