"We need both drivers up there," admits Red Bull boss, amidst claims that Liam Lawson could be dropped before the Japanese Grand Prix.

On a day McLaren scored its 50th 1-2 and Ferrari had both of its drivers disqualified, Red Bull only added 12 points to its tally with Max Verstappen the sole contributor.

Finishing the afternoon 12th, three seconds down on RB's Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson continues to struggle to find his feet.

Speaking at race end, while keen to give the youngster a chance, Horner admitted that time is running out.

"Everything is purely speculative at the moment," said the Briton when asked if Lawson will still be in the second car at the next race. "We've just finished this race," he continued. "We're going to take away the info and have a good look at it.

"I think Liam still has potential," he insisted, "we're just not realising that at the moment.

"I think the problem for him is, you know, he's had a couple of really tough weekends.

"He's got all the media on his back," he added. "You know, the pressure just naturally grows in this business. And I feel very sorry for him that he's... you can see it's very tough on him at the moment.

"We're two races in and I think, you know, we've just finished this race. I think we take away the information we have.

"There's performance that we need to find and we need both drivers up there if there's to be any chance of fighting for the Constructors' Championship. For the drivers' championship as well, you need to have a second car in play, you can't just do it one-legged," he admitted.

"Formula 1 is a pressure business, there's always time pressure. And Liam knows that. Hopefully he'll respond accordingly and we'll see where we go."

Pushed on whether Tsunoda might be promoted, Horner said: "I'm not even going to comment on a change, because that would be your first headline.

"As I say, we're two races into this championship, so we have a sample of two. We have quite a bit of information, we're going to go away and have a good look at it and work with Liam and do the best that we can for him."

Asked what is needed in order to make a decision, Horner said: "There's so much info. How he's adapted to driving the car, what he's getting from the car, what can we do to help, where are his major issues, what's causing inconsistency, you know, all of those issues."

"We knew it was going to be tough," said Lawson about today's race, "we started from the pitlane to try something with the car, and it unfortunately just didn't work the way we wanted.

"What was really just a hard weekend was just a bit harder today," he added.

Asked about the speculation of him being dropped for the next race, he replied: "Unfortunately, I don't really have time to get used to it, but I need to figure it out quickly.

"I don't have time to test the car and get used to it," he continued, "we're in the season already, so each race we're losing points. That's more or less what I mean when I say I don't have time.

"But I'm also not stupid and I know that, obviously, I'm here to perform, and if I'm not doing that, I'm not going to be around. So I'm focused on getting used to the car as quickly as I can."

However, when it was suggested that he be replaced by Tsunoda - his previous teammate - he snapped: "I've raced him for years, raced him in junior categories and beat him, and I did in F1 as well, so he can say whatever he wants."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 19 hours ago

"@Tyrbiter...I'm not insisting anything merely pointing out a few facts. IIRC Lawson had the benefit of eleven races in '24 and that totals around 3300+ Kms as well as prior testing mileage. That is considerable IMO. Yes, you can trundle around a test track for days on end but nothing prepares a driver better than 'real time racing'. Piastri did have extensive prep time prior to his start with McLaren but he also spent a year on the sidelines as well! What actually happens at Red Bull is not clear cut yet but change is needed if the confidence is not there in the team. Tough call."

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2. Posted by moomoo, 24/03/2025 18:41

"Horner can only hint following his emasculation of a season or so back. The tank is empty."

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3. Posted by Editor, 24/03/2025 16:30

"@ Tyrbiter

And didn't a certain Mr Piastri have an extensive testing programme with Alpine before he hopped off over to McLaren.

I seem to recall that the French team was quite miffed at all the money they'd spent on him."

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4. Posted by Tyrbiter, 24/03/2025 16:23

"@kenji
Well, I take the view that if you insist that all a driver's learning is carried out in public without the private testing that used to be available then don't be surprised when things go sour.

How many laps did the sainted Schumacher drive around Fiorano when such things were allowed? It was a lot. And he was the best of the best according to some. Personally I decry the absence of testing and the budget cap, it certainly hasn't spiced up the racing in my view.

Lawson may find himself food for the fishes soon, and all because he isn't Max."

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5. Posted by BillH, 24/03/2025 9:52

"It seems that this is a case of a young driver and his engineer having difficulty working together to figure out how to get the best out of the car.
The feedback from the driver may not be what the engineer is used to.
That being said, many other drivers have managed to switch teams and the other less experienced rookie driver are not doing as badly.
This situation is a conundrum for the driver and team alike.
Usually the team could point to the other driver and say “if he can do it, so can you” however the experience gap and who that teammate is, makes this a bit different.
I, and a lot of New Zealanders really hope that Lawson can figure this car setup out, and fast as he and his family and backers have put so much into his F1 career to date for it to end this soon. "

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6. Posted by Geeza1966, 24/03/2025 8:36

"I am in absolute agreeance with rambler and Tyrbiter here.... And Red Bull/Horner/Marko et all should be very careful about all thier eggs in the Verstappen basket... We know that Newey even said that last years car was becoming more twitchy, nervous and inconsitent regarding extracting optimum performance out it, but no-one listened...And I believe that all at Red Bull were happy whilst they had an advantage and VMax was bringing home the bacon week after week.... But throw in the resurgence of McMerc, and the Red Bull losing Neweys influence on it to dial out the idiosyncrasies etc, and what they are left with is a monster that even Max is now not able to fully tame, so what chance anyone else?? And here's another anomaly for all at Milton Keynes to consider.... If VMax decides that his current mount is not to his liking, or shows little to no hope of improving, maybe he will decide to have a look at Aston Martin, given that they will also become the 2026 Honda works team too...... Then Horner will be left with an average team, probably with an average Ford engine, and looking around for average drivers as all the key ones will already be signed up on long term contracts due to regulation changes etc.... Isnt Formula 1 such fun???? Lol....."

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7. Posted by kenji, 24/03/2025 7:28

"@Tyrebiter...if these drivers are in fact the 'creme de la creme' of the F1 racing world then 13 starts should be more than adequate to get a solid grip on the performance and handling characteristics of whatever they're sitting in!.It's a tough environment and it takes an incredible level of skill to master. Surely it makes more sense to bench Lawson for a while and let Tsunoda/Hadjar have a crack at it. They have very little to lose at this stage of the season but to delay for very much longer will wreck their chances of the WCC in '25 and that's where the 'loot' lies."

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8. Posted by KKK, 23/03/2025 19:55

"Give Riiciardo ago , just for one race, and see how he fares"

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9. Posted by Tyrbiter, 23/03/2025 19:12

"I can't imagine how someone with 13 F1 starts to his name can be expected to immediately drive to the limit a car that has been developed to suit someone who is now a 4 times World Champion and has a liking for a notoriously peaky car characteristic.

If Red Bull are unable to provide a car with a wider drive-ability range then it hardly matters who they put in it because it's going to take some laps to get to grips with the car handling and the switchery on the steering wheel. I can't understand why the team doesn't see the pattern of performance of every driver other than Max over the last 5 or 6 years."

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10. Posted by Chester, 23/03/2025 18:52

"Somehow I think Hamilton or Alonso could handle the Red Bull and put it closer to the front than guys like Sergio Perez and an untested Liam Lawson.

"

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11. Posted by rambler, 23/03/2025 18:10

"The real name of Red Bull Racing is "Verstappen Racing" whoever is in the second car is the development driver for Max. The second driver will always have to drive a car designed and developed for Max. We have seen this in season after season. If I was Tsunoda I would stay where I am and move when Honda are providing engines to a supportive team."

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12. Posted by Tom2681, 23/03/2025 17:59

"Give Yuki a Red Bull for his home race, see what happens."

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