Revealed: Why Lawson endured Red Bull struggle alongside Verstappen

Thursday's official announcement that Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda would swap seats from next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix raised several questions, the major one being whether Max Verstappen is the only driver who can excel in the RB21.

A similar question was asked last season with the RB20, with Sergio Perez having become stuck in a downward spiral and unable to extract performance from the car.

However, Verstappen also encountered difficulties with the car last year and has already complained this season of the RB21 being too slow. 

Based on the problems he experienced in 2024, Verstappen asked for this year's car to have a strong front end to counteract understeer, and for it to be less peaky.

The requests were not unordinary and similar to what any other driver would demand regardless of driving style.

It means Lawson's struggles in Australia and China are only partly due to the characterises of the car and the four-time world champion's driving style.

RacingNews365 understands that there is no extreme anti-dive visible on the front end and variation in the rear suspension geometry. The RB21 is said to be "softer" at the front to reduce stress on the rear. 

Last year, the stiff front end would have affected the rear too much, making the car's behaviour unpredictable midway through a fast corner. There is also a link to the flexibility of the front wing.

Red Bull flexibility

Red Bull already decided last year not to base management of airflow at the bottom on front wing flexibility. 

The current, flexible version of the front wing has no explicit function for managing airflow at different ride heights. The VCARB-01 that Lawson drove during 2024 did have just such a concept. 

As a result, the aerodynamics at the front guarantee confidence at entry and mid-corner. With the current configuration of the RB21, that confidence cannot be guaranteed. 

If Lawson's replacement was chosen with the goal of increasing the number of points in the constructors' championship, it is plausible that Tsunoda would be less sensitive to changes in tuning between Racing Bulls' car and the RB21.

RacingNews365 understands that the difference between the two Red Bulls is mainly in aerodynamic characteristics, or in other words, a different distribution of the load generated by the car. 

The issue is not that Red Bull wants to determine which of the two cars performs best, but rather which driver is most comfortable. 

Tsunoda should notice that difference immediately and should be able to adapt to the RB21's characteristics. The setup, as mentioned, could help solve just a few crucial problems.