“No chance against Max,” Ralf Schumacher warns Red Bull over Yuki Tsunoda’s rumored promotion

Ralf Schumacher believes that Yuki Tsunoda would be set up for failure at Red Bull, especially against Max Verstappen.

“No chance against Max,” Ralf Schumacher warns Red Bull over Yuki Tsunoda’s rumored promotion

Liam Lawson (via Red Bull), Yuki Tsunoda and Ralf Schumacher (via IMAGO)

Liam Lawson failed to amass any notable results in his first two outings with the team. The Kiwi sustained a P20 start in both races that set him on the back foot throughout the session. Lawson also couldn’t contain the issues in the car and suffered from a streak of woeful performances. Max Verstappen on the other hand remained consistent in his results and scored over 36 points for the team. Due to this, rumors have come up of Yuki Tsunoda replacing the 23-year-old in the upcoming Japanese GP.

Yuki Tsunoda was snubbed from a promotion to Red Bull after Sergio Perez decided to part ways with the team. Liam Lawson seemed to be the obvious choice as he showcased better results during the test sessions. However, Lawson’s race pace remains extremely mediocre while Tsunoda managed to score some impressive results in the two races. The Japanese driver fell down the pecking order due to a botched strategy from RB in both races.

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Ralf Schumacher waged his opinions on the matter and revealed the downsides of Tsunoda replacing Lawson in the coming races. Schumacher believed that the Red Bull family was ‘destabilizing’ the lineup at RB that now seemed to do well with the two young drivers. Even rookie Isack Hadjar has managed to score some highly noteworthy results. The German didn’t hesitate to claim that the Japanese driver had ‘no chance’ of competing against Max Verstappen.

They’re destabilising the good Racing Bulls team, who are finally doing well with both drivers, and they’re burning out Tsunoda, who is better but has no chance against Max.

Ralf Schumacher said, as reported by motorsport.com

Ralf Schumacher labels Red Bull’s ongoing issues as ‘pure chaos’

Red Bull has faced multiple issues since the beginning of the 2025 season. The RB21 chassis remains extremely difficult to handle even for Max Verstappen. On the other hand, the drivers’ lineup seems unstable at the moment as Liam Lawson is failing to score well. Now, a mid-season driver change would cause both of the drivers to adapt to different scenarios again which wasn’t good according to Ralf Schumacher.

Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen (Via Red Bull)
Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen (Via Red Bull)

Speaking upon the current situation, Ralf Schumacher reckons that Liam Lawson would go to RB and supposedly rebuild himself. Even Tsunoda would have to adapt to the difficult conditions at Red Bull. Hence, the 49-year-old believed that all the situations were ‘pure chaos’ for the Austrian constructor. The German insisted that the main team was slower than the junior team as they also pushed for swapping drivers mid-season. He claimed that the entire charade was ‘unbelievable’ and not a look good for the team in Formula 1.

Lawson is going back to the Racing Bulls and is supposed to rebuild there. This is pure chaos at Red Bull. Not only is the main team too slow, but the fact that they’re now also swapping drivers—I find this charade unbelievable.

Ralf Schumacher noted

Liam Lawson lashes out at Yuki Tsunoda for being ready to move to Red Bull

Yuki Tsunoda was questioned about his thoughts on his chances at Red Bull if the team were to swap the drivers. The 24-year-old seemed confident in himself and raised positivity over his chances following the promotion to the main team. Moreover, Tsunoda asserted that the RB21 chassis was faster than VCARB02, something to which Liam Lawson took offense.

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda
Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, image via IMAGO

Liam Lawson lashed out at Tsunoda and claimed that the latter could say whatever he wanted. The Kiwi revealed that he beat the 24-year-old multiple times in the junior categories as he stood no chance against him. Additionally, Lawson iterated that he beat the Japanese driver in Formula 1 as well since he received the promotion. Hence, he repeated that Yuki Tsunoda could say whatever he wanted about the former.

He can honestly say whatever he wants, I raced him for years. I raced him in junior categories, and I beat him and I did in F1 as well, so he can say whatever he wants.

Liam Lawson said, as reported by GPblog

Red Bull now has the massive task of finding improvement over the 2025 season under very critical conditions. Max Verstappen has also scheduled a meeting with the engineers in Milton Keynes to immediately work on the underlying issue of the car. Hence, the situation could improve in the coming races as the team pushes to find stability. Time will tell about how the drivers’ lineup changes over the year following incessant rumors.