Liam Lawson, who is strongly aware of Hiroki Tsunoda, targets imposed by RB 2025 Red Bull F1 seat |

Liam Lawson is determined to perform at least as well as Hiroki Tsunoda in the remaining six races of the season and secure a contract from 2025 onwards, but his sights are set on the RB F1 seat not only

The 22-year-old New Zealand driver will go head-to-head with Yuki Tsunoda for the 2025 seat after this weekend’s F1 round 19, the American Grand Prix. However, this relationship between the two is not new.

Both were Motopark players at the EuroFormula Open Championship 2019. In the same year, they competed on different teams at Monza in the FIA-F3 Championship, where they both finished on the podium.

He was also a teammate in the M2 Championship in the Toyota Racing Series (now the Formula Oceania Regional Championship), which he entered the following year. Hiroki Tsunoda finished fourth, Lawson second, Igor Fraga won the championship and Franco Colapinto took third.

On the official F1 YouTube channel, Lawson spoke about his long relationship with Hiroki Tsunoda, stressing that to win the F1 seat in 2025, he must earn a high reputation through comparisons with his teammates.

“I’ve known Yuki for a long time. We were teammates in F3 in 2019 and we were teammates when he came to New Zealand to race in the Toyota Racing Series,” said Lawson.

“We used to live in the same building, and last year we raced five races as mates.”

“So, I’ve been compared to Yuki since I was 17 or 18 years old.”

What do I need to do to get a seat for the next season? When asked, Lawson replied, “That depends on how I compare to Yuki.”

“I think the only level of comparison in F1 at the moment is your players.

“Of course, the differences between the teams are getting smaller and the performance of the cars closer, but the most important thing, as everyone knows, is the participants.

“He is the only one in the same car as me, so he will be judged based on that comparison.

Also, in the official F1 podcast, Red Bull said that the two things they are looking for in RB are at least to “perform on par with Yuki Tsunoda” and “earn points.”

Lawson admitted that Hiroki Tsunoda has been running at a higher level than ever this season, but cited changes within the team as one of the reasons for this. be in a positive direction.

“Obviously he has started well this year and is performing better than he has done in any season so far, but at the same time the team has changed a lot this year and I think we’re heading in a very good direction,” said Lawson.

If Lawson fails to meet Red Bull’s expectations in the remaining six races after the US Grand Prix, his F1 career could be over. On the other hand, if his assessment is further developed, it is possible that he will be promoted to the senior team in 2025, as well as the RB seat, depending on the situation around Sergio Perez.

Will there be any mention from Red Bull directors about the possibility of being promoted to the works team depending on performance? When asked, Lawson replied, “Yes.”

“There have always been talks about being a Red Bull driver in the future, and I have told them that and I would like to do that.”

“I don’t know when that will be, but I know they need drivers to replace their current line-up and at the end of the day it will depend on my performance.”

The loss of Daniel Ricciardo’s seat and the appointment of Lawson as a replacement was officially announced after the Singapore Grand Prix, but it was back in the day when Red Bull representative Christian Horner made the decision and told Lawson about it. the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a week ago.

Ricciardo also knew that the race at the Marina Bay City Course would be his last. The two had a good relationship. Lawson spoke to Ricardo in Singapore and expressed his feelings.

“Daniel has always been good to me, giving me driving advice (when I came in as a substitute in 2023) and doing what he can during the season,” Lawson said. .

“So I never felt like I was directly competing with him for the seat.”

“I went to see him and I apologized and said I’m sorry for the situation and I’m sorry for making you feel bad, but he told me he has no bad feelings towards me and that I’m sorry that F1 He told me that I had one chance, so I should make the most of it and I wished me luck.”