Liam Lawson’s Red Bull adventure came to an abrupt end on Thursday after just two races. Pointless Grands Prix in Melbourne and Shanghai marked the end for the New Zealander. The media has widely criticized Red Bull’s decision to let him go so soon. However, former champion Jacques Villeneuve takes a different stance, believing that Lawson’s ‘arrogance’ led to his downfall.
On Thursday morning, Red Bull announced that Yuki Tsunoda would replace Liam Lawson starting from the Grand Prix of Japan. After a dropout in Australia and two disappointing qualifying sessions in China – both times last – the Austrians opted for a swap. As a result, Lawson returns to the subsidiary team Racing Bulls, where he must continue to develop as a Formula 1 driver.
Former champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Lawson’s Red Bull adventure was doomed to fail, partly due to his ‘arrogant’ attitude leading up to his promotion. He refers, among other things, to previous clashes with Fernando Alonso and Sergio Pérez in the previous season. “These two races didn’t do him much good,” Villeneuve explained to NZCasino. “It’s very simple and that’s the risk. When you start with Red Bull, you have to go all in right away. That’s the price you pay to be placed in the best team.”
Recovery at Racing Bulls?
“If it doesn’t work out, it’s immediately punished,” the Canadian continued. “That’s just the way it is. And that’s okay, that’s how it should be. Personally, I thought they might give him another three races when Formula 1 returns to Europe, so they could make a well-considered decision. But we must not forget how arrogantly he entered the sport. Last year, he repeatedly said how great he would be and he did have a bit of an attitude.”
“If the results then fail to materialize, everyone will react even more strongly,” Villeneuve explained. “Moreover, it’s also the worst result ever in a Red Bull car. So now he’s paying the price for how he portrayed himself.” Villeneuve does expect that Liam Lawson can recover at Racing Bulls. “Red Bull has data that we don’t have,” he concluded. “So they know that Lawson just can’t handle it and Suzuka is a treacherous circuit. You don’t want to race there with the wrong attitude. Red Bull has already decided that he’s burnt out, so they might as well replace him immediately. Then he might still recover.”
