McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown spoke about Red Bull’s tumultuous season ahead of the F1 British GP — Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, and Isack Hadjar respond. Red Bull’s season has been tension-filled, with midseason driver changes, potential race bans, and rumours of Max Verstappen leaving for Mercedes.
Verstappen has scored 155 of Red Bull’s 162 points. However, the team have struggled for points over the past three races. Verstappen’s collision with George Russell at the Spanish GP saw him leave with one point. At the Austrian GP, Verstappen DNFed after being hit by Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap.
Yuki Tsunoda has not fared better, struggling to adjust to the car. Tsunoda failed to score points over the past three races. Brown commented on Red Bull’s performance, stating that the team would be behind their junior team in the points if not for Verstappen.
“Red Bull would be behind Racing Bulls [without Verstappen]. They have done a great job and have a great racing car. I think Max is carrying them at the moment.”
Tsunoda needs more time to adjust to the Red Bull
When asked about Brown’s comments ahead of the F1 British GP, Tsunoda agreed based on his performance. He highlighted his strong performance in the VCARB prior to switching seats with Liam Lawson. Tsunoda stated that he needs more time to better understand the car.
“Well, it’s the truth that probably we’d be behind. I mean, the performances at this point I’m getting, probably we’ll be behind. But at the same time, I was not in the off-season tests there, so I don’t know.
“But VCARB so far, yeah, definitely performing well. I’ve shown good performance first two races. Probably if everything goes well with Australia, China was a bit hectic, and if the strategy, everything goes well, I was probably scoring a lot of points. So, it’s good that they’re performing. But at the same time now, I’m fully focused on Red Bull, and it’s a car that definitely you can make it work.
“I just need, I guess, my opinion, just need more time, build the understanding, work hard to understand, work hard with the engineer as well. I just have to get his point more.”
Lawson: “I don’t think Zak Brown understands” the situation regarding Verstappen, Red Bull and Racing Bulls
Unlike Tsunoda, Lawson disagreed with Brown. The New Zealander finished a career-best P6 at the Austrian GP, being the highest-placed Red Bull car. Going into the F1 British GP, Lawson looks to continue his points finishes.
“I don’t think Zak Brown understands. It’s easy to comment on stuff when you are not involved and you’re outside of the picture. So, I don’t think he understands.”
Lawson highlighted his minimal time in the Red Bull seat. He stated that he didn’t have enough time in the seat to fully understand the car’s performance. Interestingly, Lawson alluded to potential changes Red Bull would have made to his car, had he remained in the seat longer than two races.
“I guess I didn’t have anywhere near enough time, on two tracks I’d never been to, to really understand. In two weekends, I don’t have enough feel of the car to be able to comment, honestly, on what its speed is like and things like that.
“We were working on things to improve it and make it better for me as well, and never got the chance to use them.”
Hadjar claims “hard to exploit” Red Bull’s speed compared to Racing Bulls
Similar to Lawson, Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar disagreed with Brown’s comments. He stated that the Red Bull car is faster than his car but is likely harder to drive.
“I think Max in the Red Bull is very fast. It’s his car and he drives it to the absolute limit. It’s a more efficient car in high-speed corners. It’s a faster car, but it’s apparently hard to exploit most of it.”
When asked about the possibility of moving to Red Bull ahead of the F1 British GP, Hadjar stated that the decision is out of his control.
“It’s not like I’m in total control. I’m scoring points every weekend and there’s still lots to learn. It makes more sense to stay where I’m at at the moment, that’s for sure.”
