Since making the decision to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull have scrambled to try and control the narrative. For obvious reasons, the Austrian team’s driver management is being called into question.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has suggested that former technical chief Adrian Newey was part of the reason that Yuki Tsunoda had been overlooked for promotion from the sister Racing Bulls team.

Adrian Newey was a potential obstacle to Yuki Tsunoda's promotion to the Red Bull Formula 1 team, according to the

Yuki Tsunoda has remembered a seat fitting for Red Bull at the end of last year which led to nothing. Tsunoda had tested the Red Bull at the 2024 postseason test but was overlooked for the race seat in favour of Liam Lawson.

Barely three months ago, Yuki Tsunoda’s window to drive for Red Bull Racing in Formula One appeared to have closed. Despite putting forward a strong case through the 2024 season for its sister team, RB, Red Bull passed over Tsunoda when replacing Sergio Pérez. Instead, it promoted Tsunoda’s teammate Liam Lawson into the seat.

The Red Bull senior advisor confirmed that was not “the deciding factor” when opting to switch Tsunoda and Liam Lawson after just two rounds of the 2025 season. Marko: Yuki Ts