Liam Lawson has admitted that he was shocked by his demotion from Red Bull after two grands prix, while team boss Christian Horner believes it was a case of “too much, too soon.”
Lawson became the victim of one of Formula 1’s most ruthless moves last week when Red Bull — who promoted him in late December — dropped the New Zealand racer in favour of Yuki Tsunoda, who was previously overlooked.
“It was definitely a shock, honestly,” Lawson told Sky Sports ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. “It’s not something that I saw coming.
“The discussions we were having as well, I think, weren’t really leaning in this direction, so it was definitely not something that I sort of expected.”
Lawson failed to score a point in two grands prix and a sprint race, while his woeful three qualifying sessions also factored into Red Bull’s thinking.
But Lawson, after joining Red Bull with just 11 races under his belt, still felt he would have been given more time to prove himself.
“Obviously, I would have loved more time,” he added.
“And I felt like with more time, especially going to places that I’d been before … It was a tough start. We had a rocky testing. We had a rocky first weekend in Melbourne with practice. And then obviously China was a sprint.
“I think going to places that I’d been before with the way the car was quite tricky, I think that would have helped and I would have loved that opportunity. But obviously, it’s not my decision, so I’m here to make the most of this one.”
Team principal Horner insisted that the door is not closed for Lawson moving forwards, with the 22-year-old hoping to prove himself back at junior team Racing Bulls.
“Of course, it’s horrible because you’re taking away someone’s dreams and aspirations, but sometimes you’ve got to be cruel to be kind,” Horner said. “And I think that in this instance, this is not the end for Liam.
“We have to accept, I think we were asking too much of him too soon. And so this is for him to, again, nurture that talent that we know that he has, back in the Racing Bulls seat, whilst giving Yuki the opportunity and looking to make use of the experience that he has.”
Source: espn.com