Christian Horner has refused to confirm whether under-pressure Liam Lawson will still be driving for Red Bull at the next round of the Formula 1 season in Japan.
Lawson replaced Sergio Pérez at Red Bull over the winter but has struggled in his first two race weekends with the team after failing to score a point over two grands prix and a sprint race.
Meanwhile, teammate Max Verstappen is second in the standings after scoring a podium in Australia and finishing fourth in China.
Lawson’s struggle has raised questions over his future at Red Bull, with Yuki Tsunoda, who races for sister team Racing Bulls, a prime candidate to replace him.
When Horner was asked if Lawson would still be driving for Red Bull in Japan, he said: “Look, I think everything is purely speculative at the moment. We’ve just finished this race. We’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it.”
He added: “I think Liam still has potential — we’re just not realising that at the moment.
“I think the problem for him is, you know, he’s had a couple of really tough weekends. He’s got all the media on his back.
“You know, the pressure just naturally grows in this business. And I feel very sorry for him that he’s … you can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.”
When it was put to Horner that he could relieve some of that pressure by saying Lawson would remain at the team in Japan, he still refused to confirm his driver’s future.
“We’re two races in and I think, you know, we’ve just finished this race,” Horner said. “I think we take away the information we have.”
Red Bull are third in the constructors’ standings — with all points scored by Verstappen — and Horner did admit to Sky Sports that title hopes would factor into any decision.
“There’s performance that we need to find and we need both drivers up there if there’s to be any chance of fighting for the constructors’ championship,” he said. “For the drivers’ championship as well, you need to have a second car in play, you can’t just do it one legged.
“Formula 1 is a pressure business, there’s always time pressure. And Liam knows that. Hopefully he’ll respond accordingly and we’ll see where we go.”
Horner, however, refused to speak about Tsunoda’s potential as a replacement for Lawson.
“I’m not even going to comment on a change, because that would be your first headline. You know, as I say, we’re two races into this championship, so we have a sample of two.
“We have quite a bit of information, we’re going to go away and have a good look at it and work with Liam and do the best that we can for him.”
Asked what Red Bull needed to find in the data from Lawson’s race to make a decision on his future, Horner added: “Look, I think there’s so much info.
“How he’s adapted to driving the car, what he’s getting from the car, what can we do to help, where are his major issues, what’s causing inconsistency, you know, all of those issues.”
Source: espn.com