April 3, 2025 • 8 mins
Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson has been back in the Racing Bulls simulator ahead of his first go on track in practice today at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
The Kiwi is back in Red Bull's B team - for whom he raced at the end of last year - after being axed as Max Verstappen's teammate in favour of Yuki Tsunoda.
Lawson's given a measured reaction to the simulator training.
Practice one begins at 3.30pm.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Waldegrave
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
It'd be obviously it's always very hard taking away someone's
you know, dreams and aspirations, but I think in this
instance it was very very clear. It was something that
was very clear to the engineering side, within the in
the team, just how much Liam was struggling with it all.
And you could see that weight upon his shoulders, and so,
(00:31):
you know, the engineers were coming to me very concerned
about it, you know, and at the end of the day,
I think it was the logical thing to do. We
have to take responsibility. I think we asked too much
of him too soon.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Eleven minutes to a there was team principal for Repel Racing,
Christian Horner, talking about Liam Lawson. Listening to that was
Michael Lamonato, Grand Prix writer Formula One. A credited writer
joins us now from Japan. Michael, welcome, great to cat
chubb Agin. I find it astonishing that Christian Horner is
(01:05):
trying to tell us that the engineers were concerned and
he made the decision based on that they should be
building a car that can be driven. They're not psychologists.
What a strange excuse and welcome.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Yes, well, thanks for having me. And it is a
strange excuse. It's a really curious situation, sort of unlike
any of even Red Bull's regularly ruthless driver decisions. And
that is because, like you say that, the crux of
it is this car problem, and it's something that Red
Bull Racing has been understanding more and more.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
In the last year.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
But because of course it has the benefit of Maxwistaff
and being in one of the cars, a generational talent
of full time world champion, he's been able to more
often than not, with very few exceptions, drive it competitively.
And we're getting the sense actually he's a little bit
unhappy that the team's response to this car, obviously having
a taken step back this year used to get rid
of the other driver and sort of avoid that problems.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
Unfortunately, it's a little bit wrong.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Place, wrong time for Lee and in that sense, and
it's now up to Red Bull Racing to try to,
with varying amounts of success, convince us that actually it
was more on Liam than the car.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
See if he going to bele to drive this thing
and talk about exterior pressure, he wants the seat He's
been given the seat Honda's home track. They want him
in that seat, The fans want him in that seat.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Oh, here we go.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
That is maybe too much for some man, some men
to bear.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
Yeah, there's really two ways to look at this.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Because if we say that Liam was underprepared and you
had a bit of a dodgy pre season with some
car troubled and then less practice in Australia, then it
rained and then China was a sprint weekend, well, so
Nowa doesn't even have any of that. He's jumping into
this cold with it. He said a couple of simulator
sessions today, and simulators don't really give you the full impression,
particularly of.
Speaker 5 (02:48):
The problems this car has.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
So he's coming in completely green and that will count
against him. On the other hand, he is just much
more experienced fundamentally. He has been preparing for a Red
Bull Racing drive, maybe not in this particular car, but
for almost five years.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
That is his fifth season in the sport.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
The experience is something that a Red Bull actually said
when it announced this change it beat it. It said
it was relying on his experience to help improve the car.
So while I think he'll he'll get a better jump
on it than leam will on his first weekend. It's
by no means going to be easy. He's going to
have it. He's going to have a difficult type and
not least because the pressure of the home fancy and
they're all very nice and polite. These are not angry
(03:26):
fans are super well informed as well here.
Speaker 5 (03:29):
But I think they've reprinted all I'm looking at it
up now.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
I've reprinted all the merchandise in record time to make
sure he's got his Red Bull gear on. They're all
very excited, so really high pressure situation.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
What do you think RedBull hope to achieve all of
this marcking around, because that's what it is. I think
it's just make Meme Lord foolish. Quite frankly, I don't
think they're surviving particularly well in the eyes of fans, writers,
Formula one people globally.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
No, he's an embarrassing situation undeniably for this team, not
just because it's had to make this change, but because
it's sort of point out of its way last year
to say that Sonoda wasn't the man. You know Christian
Horne's folk in December last year saying well you can't
be the bridesmaid forever, and it's essentially time that he
needs to think about moving on and lo and behold,
not even three months later, about three months later, he
(04:17):
is being inducted to the car. What Red Bull wants
to achieve out this obviously wants a driver who can
score points regularly.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
Now we've already said maybe that's going to be.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
A bridge too far early days for Sonoda at a minimum.
But the second element he us that it wants to
keep Max fist happened because if the team overall underperforms,
if the second car's want scrowing up points or not
able to back up Max in the races strategically or
in other ways, then.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
There's a real risk.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And this is the rumor that's been rumbling for really
a year now pretty much in formulue that Max will
consider exiting his long term contracts. They've got another couple
of years on it and perhaps seeking success elsewhere with
the change of regulations next year. So it's not just
about Red Bull's performance generally that this movie is targeted at.
It's about making sure that it can hold. Really, the
only part of the team that's functioning is intended, which
(05:02):
is maxmstappened.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Michael Lamonato joining us from Japan, a hit of the
formula line. It's Suzuka. They've lost Adrian Newey, they lost
and they've lost other key members of the staff. With
Max vers Steppen's departure not looming, but the shadows starting
to show, this is a team that's on the back
foot there, Dare I say it falling apart? Things aren't
(05:25):
going well for them.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Yeah, I don't think that's too much of a stretch, pending,
of course, whether or not it can rebound this year, because,
like you say, everything's pointing in one direction at the moment,
the car has taking a step backwards. They've lost several
key members of staff, the biggest of which is of
course Adrian Newi. It's it's lost through sacking largely several drivers.
And if Max was a leave, it'd be no larger
vote of no confidence in this project. So that's why
(05:51):
it needs all of these things really to succeed. Then
you've got to ask if it can't keep Max, or
potentially even if it let's say contractually is able to
hold on whatever, if it still ends up in an
ugly situation, you have to start asking questions of management
there because it has been a messy situation fundamentally, regardless
of what the ultimate outcome is in terms of performance
to have for Max for example, of four dry different
(06:13):
dry three different teammates in the last four races, you've
got to start asking questions of the way that Christian
Horner and helmet Marker as well the Red Bull Motus
board advisor is employed directly by the Red Bull company,
how they're approaching the management of his team.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
It's been very successful.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
You cannot deny that this combination has won many championships.
Obviously has completed the most dominant season in F one
history in twenty twenty three, But twenty twenty three was
only two years ago for the team to be facing
these problems so soon, some serious questions will have to
be asked if it can't be turned around.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
And let's get away from that, because that has dominated
everything and F one for so long, especially over in
New Zealand. But there's a bigger fight going on and
that's the two top teams right now, and this has
got fascination, especially from an Australian point of view with Piastre,
which is this leaning right now between Mercedes and McLaren.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
Yeah, at the moment you have to say it's McLaren.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Mercedes threatened a little bit and have been able to
get some good results, largely through just having clean weekends
and then pretty solid and stable ones in the way
they haven't in the last couple of years, even though
they've had these great highs, being able to dominate a
couple of races. Last year just didn't have the consistency
to really figure in any kind of questions. But this
year they looked consistent at least, and they're hopeful maybe
(07:26):
they can take another half step forward. They're also hopeful
that McLaren might not be able to progress from here
and that would bring them into it.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
But at the moment, as we.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Stand, there's no doubting that McLaren is the team to
beat in Formula One at the moment. If we look
at the advantage they had in Australia, it looked pretty significant.
In China maybe looked a little bit narrower, which has
given some teams some hope or arriving in Japan now,
of course, which is a track that over the last
two years McLaren's don't very well and it really suited
the philosophy of the cards or high speed corners, high
(07:51):
downforce and a real driver's track, which is to the
benefit of McLaren because it's got two drivers in Lando
Norris and Osco Piastri who were really not necessarily saying
at the peak of their powers, because they're still room
for both of them to improve. They're so young, but
performing at a very high level with the team they
been with for a long time. If you look at
Mercedes or Ferrariums certainly written more racing, as we've talked about,
(08:12):
they are all teams that have one established driver, another
driver who's just arrived.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
At the team, or in Mercedes case, he's still a
teenager and completing your school exam. So you'd have to
say that McLaren is still best players.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
And on that we'll let you get on with your business.
Michael Lemonatou from Age of Formula One accredited writer will
say rights for Fox as well. Thanks very much for
your time. Enjoy the weekend like you won't you.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
Lucky bugger.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
It's three minutes away from eight. It's itt for sports
talk here on New Stalks MB and you'd have thanks
for producing the program. Thanks to the cause, the text
of the listeners all hugely important to this program. I'm Darcy.
I'll catch you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to news Talk
dB from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on
iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Waldegrave
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
It'd be obviously it's always very hard taking away someone's
you know, dreams and aspirations, but I think in this
instance it was very very clear. It was something that
was very clear to the engineering side, within the in
the team, just how much Liam was struggling with it all.
And you could see that weight upon his shoulders, and so,
(00:31):
you know, the engineers were coming to me very concerned
about it, you know, and at the end of the day,
I think it was the logical thing to do. We
have to take responsibility. I think we asked too much
of him too soon.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Eleven minutes to a there was team principal for Repel Racing,
Christian Horner, talking about Liam Lawson. Listening to that was
Michael Lamonato, Grand Prix writer Formula One. A credited writer
joins us now from Japan. Michael, welcome, great to cat
chubb Agin. I find it astonishing that Christian Horner is
(01:05):
trying to tell us that the engineers were concerned and
he made the decision based on that they should be
building a car that can be driven. They're not psychologists.
What a strange excuse and welcome.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Yes, well, thanks for having me. And it is a
strange excuse. It's a really curious situation, sort of unlike
any of even Red Bull's regularly ruthless driver decisions. And
that is because, like you say that, the crux of
it is this car problem, and it's something that Red
Bull Racing has been understanding more and more.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
In the last year.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
But because of course it has the benefit of Maxwistaff
and being in one of the cars, a generational talent
of full time world champion, he's been able to more
often than not, with very few exceptions, drive it competitively.
And we're getting the sense actually he's a little bit
unhappy that the team's response to this car, obviously having
a taken step back this year used to get rid
of the other driver and sort of avoid that problems.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
Unfortunately, it's a little bit wrong.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Place, wrong time for Lee and in that sense, and
it's now up to Red Bull Racing to try to,
with varying amounts of success, convince us that actually it
was more on Liam than the car.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
See if he going to bele to drive this thing
and talk about exterior pressure, he wants the seat He's
been given the seat Honda's home track. They want him
in that seat, The fans want him in that seat.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Oh, here we go.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
That is maybe too much for some man, some men
to bear.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
Yeah, there's really two ways to look at this.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Because if we say that Liam was underprepared and you
had a bit of a dodgy pre season with some
car troubled and then less practice in Australia, then it
rained and then China was a sprint weekend, well, so
Nowa doesn't even have any of that. He's jumping into
this cold with it. He said a couple of simulator
sessions today, and simulators don't really give you the full impression,
particularly of.
Speaker 5 (02:48):
The problems this car has.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
So he's coming in completely green and that will count
against him. On the other hand, he is just much
more experienced fundamentally. He has been preparing for a Red
Bull Racing drive, maybe not in this particular car, but
for almost five years.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
That is his fifth season in the sport.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
The experience is something that a Red Bull actually said
when it announced this change it beat it. It said
it was relying on his experience to help improve the car.
So while I think he'll he'll get a better jump
on it than leam will on his first weekend. It's
by no means going to be easy. He's going to
have it. He's going to have a difficult type and
not least because the pressure of the home fancy and
they're all very nice and polite. These are not angry
(03:26):
fans are super well informed as well here.
Speaker 5 (03:29):
But I think they've reprinted all I'm looking at it
up now.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
I've reprinted all the merchandise in record time to make
sure he's got his Red Bull gear on. They're all
very excited, so really high pressure situation.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
What do you think RedBull hope to achieve all of
this marcking around, because that's what it is. I think
it's just make Meme Lord foolish. Quite frankly, I don't
think they're surviving particularly well in the eyes of fans, writers,
Formula one people globally.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
No, he's an embarrassing situation undeniably for this team, not
just because it's had to make this change, but because
it's sort of point out of its way last year
to say that Sonoda wasn't the man. You know Christian
Horne's folk in December last year saying well you can't
be the bridesmaid forever, and it's essentially time that he
needs to think about moving on and lo and behold,
not even three months later, about three months later, he
(04:17):
is being inducted to the car. What Red Bull wants
to achieve out this obviously wants a driver who can
score points regularly.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
Now we've already said maybe that's going to be.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
A bridge too far early days for Sonoda at a minimum.
But the second element he us that it wants to
keep Max fist happened because if the team overall underperforms,
if the second car's want scrowing up points or not
able to back up Max in the races strategically or
in other ways, then.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
There's a real risk.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And this is the rumor that's been rumbling for really
a year now pretty much in formulue that Max will
consider exiting his long term contracts. They've got another couple
of years on it and perhaps seeking success elsewhere with
the change of regulations next year. So it's not just
about Red Bull's performance generally that this movie is targeted at.
It's about making sure that it can hold. Really, the
only part of the team that's functioning is intended, which
(05:02):
is maxmstappened.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Michael Lamonato joining us from Japan, a hit of the
formula line. It's Suzuka. They've lost Adrian Newey, they lost
and they've lost other key members of the staff. With
Max vers Steppen's departure not looming, but the shadows starting
to show, this is a team that's on the back
foot there, Dare I say it falling apart? Things aren't
(05:25):
going well for them.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Yeah, I don't think that's too much of a stretch, pending,
of course, whether or not it can rebound this year, because,
like you say, everything's pointing in one direction at the moment,
the car has taking a step backwards. They've lost several
key members of staff, the biggest of which is of
course Adrian Newi. It's it's lost through sacking largely several drivers.
And if Max was a leave, it'd be no larger
vote of no confidence in this project. So that's why
(05:51):
it needs all of these things really to succeed. Then
you've got to ask if it can't keep Max, or
potentially even if it let's say contractually is able to
hold on whatever, if it still ends up in an
ugly situation, you have to start asking questions of management
there because it has been a messy situation fundamentally, regardless
of what the ultimate outcome is in terms of performance
to have for Max for example, of four dry different
(06:13):
dry three different teammates in the last four races, you've
got to start asking questions of the way that Christian
Horner and helmet Marker as well the Red Bull Motus
board advisor is employed directly by the Red Bull company,
how they're approaching the management of his team.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
It's been very successful.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
You cannot deny that this combination has won many championships.
Obviously has completed the most dominant season in F one
history in twenty twenty three, But twenty twenty three was
only two years ago for the team to be facing
these problems so soon, some serious questions will have to
be asked if it can't be turned around.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
And let's get away from that, because that has dominated
everything and F one for so long, especially over in
New Zealand. But there's a bigger fight going on and
that's the two top teams right now, and this has
got fascination, especially from an Australian point of view with Piastre,
which is this leaning right now between Mercedes and McLaren.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
Yeah, at the moment you have to say it's McLaren.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Mercedes threatened a little bit and have been able to
get some good results, largely through just having clean weekends
and then pretty solid and stable ones in the way
they haven't in the last couple of years, even though
they've had these great highs, being able to dominate a
couple of races. Last year just didn't have the consistency
to really figure in any kind of questions. But this
year they looked consistent at least, and they're hopeful maybe
(07:26):
they can take another half step forward. They're also hopeful
that McLaren might not be able to progress from here
and that would bring them into it.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
But at the moment, as we.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Stand, there's no doubting that McLaren is the team to
beat in Formula One at the moment. If we look
at the advantage they had in Australia, it looked pretty significant.
In China maybe looked a little bit narrower, which has
given some teams some hope or arriving in Japan now,
of course, which is a track that over the last
two years McLaren's don't very well and it really suited
the philosophy of the cards or high speed corners, high
(07:51):
downforce and a real driver's track, which is to the
benefit of McLaren because it's got two drivers in Lando
Norris and Osco Piastri who were really not necessarily saying
at the peak of their powers, because they're still room
for both of them to improve. They're so young, but
performing at a very high level with the team they
been with for a long time. If you look at
Mercedes or Ferrariums certainly written more racing, as we've talked about,
(08:12):
they are all teams that have one established driver, another
driver who's just arrived.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
At the team, or in Mercedes case, he's still a
teenager and completing your school exam. So you'd have to
say that McLaren is still best players.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
And on that we'll let you get on with your business.
Michael Lemonatou from Age of Formula One accredited writer will
say rights for Fox as well. Thanks very much for
your time. Enjoy the weekend like you won't you.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
Lucky bugger.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
It's three minutes away from eight. It's itt for sports
talk here on New Stalks MB and you'd have thanks
for producing the program. Thanks to the cause, the text
of the listeners all hugely important to this program. I'm Darcy.
I'll catch you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
For more from Sports Talk, listen live to news Talk
dB from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on
iHeartRadio
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