Yuki Tsunoda says being happy for Liam Lawson's promotion to Red Bull "would be a lie" after the Japanese racer was snubbed once again. The 2024 Racing Bulls team-mates were the two contenders for Sergio Perez's Red Bull seat for this year, with Kiwi Lawson ultimately getting the nod, with Red Bull feeling he is a better fit alongside Max Verstappen. In previous times, Tsunoda's strong performances for the junior team would have led to a chance at the senior Red Bull team, but Tsunoda has been overlooked, with his long-term future within the programme in doubt after Honda leaves for Aston Martin for 2026. Reflecting on the situation, Tsunoda detailed conversations he had with Red Bull, but habours no ill-will towards Lawson. "First of all, I wouldn't say happy for him as that would be a lie, but he definitely did what he [had] to do," Tsunoda told media including RacingNews365. "He did the best and gave 100% performance and I gave 100% performance and in the end, it was up to Red Bull how to do it but it is not necessarily a massive feeling, it is what it is. "In terms of friendship, we're still friends for sure and we still chat to each other and I talk to him, we were team-mates in [junior] categories. "In the end, they told me they chose Liam like 30 minutes before the announcement, and to be honest, I didn't really dig into the reasons why. "I was kind of prepared already and I didn't take the impression from them that they chose [Liam] because of the performance, but I sense that people had something they wanted to do in terms of the mood. "But they did mention one thing that it was not really coming from performance, but at the same time, they clearly said that: 'Anything can happen in this world', and you saw last year what happened, so I just need to keep doing what I am. "From Helmut [Marko] as well, because of his personality, I got clear direction that it is good to be a driver in a leadership position to develop yourself, that was the direction I got."
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