Red Bull were in the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons before the Japanese Grand Prix. After just two races, Liam Lawson was dropped from the senior team and replaced with Yuki Tsunoda. I believed that Tsunoda would have been the right choice for Red Bull last winter.[1] But Liam was not given a fair chance, two races under incredibly difficult circumstances were not enough to judge his full potential. Furthermore, by putting Tsunoda in the car now, he has missed the entirety of pre-season testing, so his full potential will be less apparent than if Red Bull signed him last year. Red Bull seems to be a very uncertain organisation and their indecision on their second seat is proving to be embarrassing. Prior to the grand prix, it seemed like nothing could help Red Bull avoid a constant stream of bad headlines. However, Max Verstappen’s performance in Japan brought some much-needed positivity.

McLaren had the fastest car in Japan. The drivers should have been able to lock out the front row. But on Saturday, Max Verstappen’s lap was perfect. He drove his Red Bull to the absolute limits to record a shocking pole position. Part of this was helped by the McLaren drivers underperforming. Lando’s lap was clean, yet unremarkable, whilst Oscar’s lap would have been fantastic, if he hadn’t made a major mistake at turn two that destroyed his chances of pole. Yet, no other driver would have been able to take advantage of the situation in that Red Bull. It has proved to be so difficult to drive, it should not be anywhere near pole and only was due to the excellence of Max. Once Max had pole and didn’t lose the lead at the start, the race never looked in doubt. Some people, for example 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, have pointed to McLaren’s strategy as being overly cautious and lacking a race winning mentality. But I don’t believe that there was anything McLaren could have done to win the race. Japan, a track already difficult to overtake on, proved almost impossible to thanks to the lack of significant tyre wear. So, whilst McLaren could have attempted an overcut with Lando, or let Oscar by to challenge Max at the end, I do not believe either of these strategies would have worked. Max’s exhilarating pace on Saturday won him the race. And he now sits only one point behind Lando in the drivers’ championship. Don’t count him out.

On the other side of the garage, things were less smooth sailing. Yuki Tsunoda showed more potential than Lawson had in his two races, lapping close to Verstappen in practice and the first part of qualifying. But during Q2, Yuki did not prepare his tyres correctly and consequently, had to start the race in fourteenth. Subsequently, the lack of overtaking opportunities resigned Yuki to a frustrating race. Whilst he was able to overtake Liam Lawson at the start and undercut Pierre Gasly at the pit stops, Yuki spent the rest of the race stuck behind Fernando Alonso and finished in twelfth. There should be better results to come from Yuki this season. But the Red Bull’s incredibly narrow operating window caught him out this weekend. To succeed where Verstappen’s previous teammates have failed, Yuki needs to ensure that twelfth place in Japan does not foreshadow a string of mediocre results.

Whilst Max was the most impressive driver at Suzuka, the second most was also a Red Bull driver, albeit one driving for the junior team. Isack Hadjar had showed impressive form in his first two weekends, though had failed to convert his pace into point scoring positions. But that all changed in Japan, not without suffering on Isack’s part. Because in the first part of qualifying, Isack’s seatbelt was too tight, causing him severe pain in an unfortunate area. The fact that he managed to get out of Q1 with this pain was impressive enough. To persevere and outqualify Lewis Hamilton by the end of qualifying was remarkable. And whilst Isack lost a place to Lewis in the race he still finished an impressive eighth place, occupying the top of the midfield. Isack had a lot of doubters when he came into F1 at the beginning of the year, including some senior figures within Red Bull. In three weekends, he’s successfully silenced all the critics and put himself on the map as a driver to watch. I personally am quickly becoming a fan of Isack’s and I’m excited to see what performances he can string together throughout the year. Depending on what happens with Yuki, he may even end up being Max Verstappen’s third teammate this year.

So, it was an eventful weekend for Red Bull. Bad PR overshadowed by an emphatic win, a teammate swap tentatively appearing to pay off and a rapid rookie stealing the headlines. Red Bull may not always bring us the most positive headlines, but in a weekend that should have been dominated by McLaren, all the attention was on the team from Milton Keynes.

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[1] Which you can read about more here https://ryansf1blog.co.uk/2024/12/26/perez-is-out-but-why-pick-lawson-over-tsunoda/