05/04/2025
NEWS STORY
Former Alpha Tauri and Toro Rosso boss, Franz Tost says promoting Yuki Tsunoda over Liam Lawson was a no brainer.
The Austrian, in many ways as no-nonsense as countryman Helmut Marko, was appointed team manager at Toro Rosso in 2005 and left what had now become Alpha Tauri at the end of 2023.
Speaking to Austria's ORF, Tost, says that had he still been in charge he would have promoted Tsunoda to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull without hesitation.
"I would have gone with Yuki from the start," the said. "I said that already, I made it clear last autumn. Why? Yuki is much faster than Lawson.
"You could give Lawson one hundred years, and he still wouldn't be as fast as Yuki," he added. "And Yuki is more experienced, so what's the issue? It's a very simple decision."
Of course, Tsunoda, like Sergio Perez, came from outside the Red Bull 'family', and in the Japanese driver's case it was his close ties with Honda, which is in its last season as supplier to Red Bull, that no doubt helped to seal the deal. Then again, Marko has since admitted that he simply felt Lawson was the better choice, citing some of Tsunoda's wilder moments since entering the sport.
"It's definitely a confirmation that the right call was made," said Tost, following Friday's sessions. "Yuki has incredible natural speed, I've been saying that for years, now, he just needs to put it all together properly.
"He's still too emotional in the car at times," admitted the Austrian, who worked with Tsunoda for two seasons, "and maybe that was one of the reasons they didn't pick him over Lawson in the first place.
"But in terms of raw pace, Yuki absolutely belongs among the best Formula 1 drivers," he insisted. "If he can now translate that into consistency, perform in the races, and keep his emotions more or less in check, then it's going to be a very, very good season for Red Bull and for Yuki Tsunoda.
"Knowing the track is one thing. Being fast is another. The decision to put Yuki in the car now was absolutely right, because Liam is simply too slow."
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