What's it like being a replacement F1 driver?

BBC News

02-04-2025

It is the sort of debut he will have dreamed about.Yuki Tsunoda will race for Red Bull for the first time in front of his home fans at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.But alongside the sense of pride there will likely also be feelings of uncertainty and pressure on the 24-year-old, after he was promoted to replace Liam Lawson just two races into the season.Lawson was demoted after crashing out of the season opener in Australia and then qualifying last for both the Sprint and Grand Prix in China a week later.Tsunoda, meanwhile, steps up from the junior F1 team Racing Bulls."It's a mixed feeling," he told BBC Radio 5 live."But even with the pressure and challenge you'll only experience that situation ever, maybe once or twice in life so overall I'm super excited."
What are the challenges Tsunoda faces?
Tsunoda will have a lot to learn in a short space of time.He may be only 24 but is an experienced F1 driver, having been racing since 2021 with AlphaTauri and RB - now Racing Bulls - last season.But having spent pre-season familiarising with the Racing Bulls car he will now quickly have to learn how to handle Red Bull's RB21.He says he has spent plenty of time in the simulator, but nothing can match the experience of driving it for real."I think getting into any new car is not easy but at the same time I drove already the simulator car quite well, it's close enough to feel the car," Tsunoda said. "I know the direction I want to have in terms of car set-up, it still works quite well when I tried in simulator and I'm sure I'll start in a direction more towards that."In addition, he will have to quickly build a relationship with his new race engineer and team-mate Max Verstappen that the rest of the field will already have."I think Yuki has nothing to lose because everybody has been struggling in that seat," ex-Formula 1 driver Jaime Alguersuari told BBC Radio 5 live."Everybody has been struggling to find the right set-up, to understand how Max is doing it."He has a lot of experience. He came into Formula One and many people were doubting him but he has developed himself. "He had a decent season last year and I think he is a very competitive driver."
Ruthless Red Bull or right decision?
Lawson's demotion means he will be racing for Red Bull's junior team Racing Bulls this weekend.The 23-year-old New Zealander is certainly not the first to have experienced this at Red Bull, with the team having developed a reputation for being great for giving young talent a chance, but ruthless with a driver if they feel it isn't working out.In 2016, Daniil Kvyat was dropped after two high-profile crashes with then team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the Russian Grand Prix - the fourth race of the season.Current world champion Max Verstappen, who was 18 at the time, was promoted to replace Kvyat and the Dutchman made an instant impression as he won the Spanish Grand Prix - his first race for Red Bull and one that made him the youngest winner in F1 history.Verstappen went on to dominate the sport while Kvyat's Formula 1 career never really recovered. He had a couple of seasons with Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri but has raced in different series' since 2022.Sergio Perez was Verstappen's team-mate last season but endured a difficult run of form as he struggled with the RB20 and he was dropped by Red Bull at the end of the year."When I joined Red Bull, there had been great drivers who had struggled - Alex [Albon], Pierre [Gasly], they are fantastic drivers and they struggled," Perez told F1.com, external"For me, it was very simple, the car is just quite difficult to get 100% out of it, to get the confidence out of it - and the things I struggled with, even Adrian [Newey, the team's former design chief] talked about them."Alguersuari knows all too well how tough the sport can be with all the pressure to perform, particularly at Red Bull.He spent three seasons in F1 from 2009, mainly racing for Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso, where he scored 25 of the team's 40 points in 2011 but lost his drive there at the end of that season."Red Bull as the ability to make you feel outside of your comfort zone, to make you doubt yourself," Alguersuari added."Red Bull is a machine of destroying drivers because they have this mentality and philosophy of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So they always push and put pressure on you."Even at Toro Rosso they asked me to win a race or otherwise it was not good enough. You had this feeling of not being good enough all the time unless you are world champion."
What about the driver being replaced?
There's no doubt it is tough to take for the driver who has effectively been demoted.Lawson reacted to the news on social media by posting a picture of himself as a child and a drawing he made of becoming an F1 driver."Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it's what I've worked towards my whole life," he wrote."It's tough, but I'm grateful for everything that's brought me to this point."Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said everything would be done to ensure Lawson has the support he needs."We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together," he said."We see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience, as he continues his F1 career with ... Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well."