Formula E star declares Red Bull wouldn’t have done Liam Lawson-Yuki Tsunoda saga a decade ago

Formula E champion Pascal Wehrlein believes that Yuki Tsunoda-Liam Lawson's swap fiasco wouldn't have happened a decade ago.

Formula E star declares Red Bull wouldn’t have done Liam Lawson-Yuki Tsunoda saga a decade ago

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda (via IMAGO), Pascal Wehrlein (via Steffen Prößdorf)

Red Bull underwent a massive fiasco in their drivers’ lineup after demoting Liam Lawson from the parent team in just two races. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda received the coveted promotion to the main team on the grid. The Red Bull junior program is known to hone many young talents in the sport and provide them a shot at racing in the pinnacle of motorsport. However, the junior drivers do not perform well sometimes due to being under pressure. Now, Formula E champion Pascal Wehrlein has waged his opinions on the entire driver swap saga at Milton Keynes.

Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, and many more highly talented drivers are products of Red Bull’s junior program. The Austrian constructor has still faced several issues in terms of performance in recent years that caused many drivers to suffer from a disappointing end to their careers. Daniil Kvyat, Liam Lawson and others couldn’t cope up with the pressures and were ultimately snubbed from the team.

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Still, Pascal Wehrlein remained positive about the Red Bull junior program. Speaking upon the current driver swap fiasco, Wehrlein mentioned that the thinking of the teams was much different back in his days of racing in motorsport. The 30-year-old reckoned that many of the teams on the grid only put some of the most highly experienced drivers in the car and not rookies who could crack under pressure. He reiterated that around a decade ago the scenario was completely different and drivers wouldn’t suffer such a quick end to their career.

I think the thinking in the past was probably a bit different [to now], it was a lot more likely to put experienced guys in the cars. I think it sounds crazy, but 10 years ago when I was super young, I think that trend was a bit different.

Pascal Wehrlein told RacingNews365.com

Wehrlein insisted that despite the current times being different, he was quite fascinated by it. He noted that he liked the trend of the teams providing young drivers a chance to race at the pinnacle of motorsport. The 30-year-old acknowledged that although the youngsters did not possess much experience, they had proved their mettle by being able to race quickly and very fast on the grid.

I really like the trend which we are seeing right now that the teams are giving the young drivers a chance. Even though they don’t have a lot of experience, but they’ve shown that they are able to race quickly and that they are super fast.

Pascal Wehrlein added

Pascal Wehrlein reveals ‘difference’ in Red Bull’s approach to young drivers

Red Bull has always remained somewhat different as compared to the rival teams. The Austrian constructor pushes the drivers directly into the world of Formula 1 and try to extract maximum performance from them. Max Verstappen was one such driver who debuted with the sister team Toro Rosso (presently RB) while being just 17 years old and later joined the parent team in the next year.

Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen (via Racingnews365)
Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen (via Racingnews365)

Moreover, the team doesn’t hesitate to immediately demote or replace the drivers from the main team if they underperform from the get-go. Liam Lawson is the most recent driver to suffer this fate, as the team demoted him after just two races of bad performances. Pascal Wehrlein pinpointed that these situations made Milton Keynes different from the rival teams.

Wehrlein highlighted that other teams wished to acquire more talented and experienced drivers to score better points. This was often a low-risk approach for the teams as the drivers usually performed decent with little to no errors. Red Bull on the other hand is completely different in their approach. The 30-year-old insists that the Austrian team recruited junior drivers directly in their ‘A-team’ which caused many problems for the rookies.

Everyone wanted to kind of have the most experienced drivers who have already proven themselves across several years, that they are performing great in their car so that there is not a lot of risk [in signing them]. And I think only Red Bull was a bit different in the past and they actually also gave super young drivers a chance to be in their A-team.

Pascal Wehrlein noted

Still, many young drivers dream of joining Red Bull in Formula 1 and racing for one of the more notable teams on the grid. Max Verstappen remains the guy to beat for almost over a decade as multiple teammates have joined the team and faltered under the pressure. The team has now undertaken Yuki Tsunoda after he drove for the sister team for over five years. Time will tell about how the Japanese driver fares against the reigning world champion in the coming year.