Liam Lawson Recalls ‘Lonely’ Life When Yuki Tsunoda Left for Italy

Mahim Suhalka | 18/09/2024
Liam Lawson Recalls ‘Lonely’ Life When Yuki Tsunoda Left for Italy

Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, both Red Bull academy graduates, once competed for the same F1 seat as junior drivers. Despite this, they formed a strong friendship, so Lawson felt a sense of loneliness when Tsunoda moved away after getting promoted to F1.

Red Bull’s drivers operate out of Milton Keynes, where Lawson and Tsunoda spent a lot of time together. However, with RB (formerly AlphaTauri) based in Faenza, Italy, Tsunoda had to relocate to be near the team’s operations, which separated him from Lawson.

On the Talking Bulls podcast, Lawson was asked if he ever bunked with other F1 drivers. He revealed that he spent two years living in the same building as Tsunoda.

They developed a close friendship, and Lawson reflected, “He moved to Italy for F1, I felt a bit lonely for a while. We did a lot of cool stuff together when he was here, though. I’m not sure if it was good or bad for us, but it was definitely memorable.” 

Tsunoda joined F1 with AlphaTauri (now RB) in 2021 and has stayed with the Faenza-based squad since then. Meanwhile, Lawson has been a Red Bull reserve and development driver for over two years, but his wait might soon be over. If he secures a seat at RB for 2025, he could rekindle his old bond with Tsunoda.

Lawson could become Tsunoda’s teammate

Lawson impressed during his five-race stint for AlphaTauri in 2023, standing in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo. Although he’s been on the sidelines since then, it’s expected he’ll return full-time soon.

Reports indicate Lawson is likely to replace Ricciardo, whose contract expires after 2024 and whose performance has been underwhelming.

Red Bull’s chief Helmut Marko stated that a decision on Lawson’s future would be made internally by the Singapore GP next weekend. However, the announcement date for this move, which seems highly probable, has not yet been disclosed.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Daniel Ricciardo Liam Lawson RB Red Bull Yuki Tsunoda

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Mahim Suhalka

Mahim Suhalka is an F1 journalist at the SportsRush. With an ever-growing love for the sport since 2019, he became a part of the industry two years ago and since then has written over 2200 pieces. A Lewis Hamilton fan through and through and with Hamilton's loyalties shifting to Ferrari, so will his. Apart from F1, he is a Football fanatic having played the sport and represented his state in various tournaments as he still stays in touch with the sport. Always a sports enthusiast Mahim is now translating his passion into words.

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