In 2019, three rookies made their way into Formula 1–Lando Norris, George Russell and Alex Albon. All of them are now amazing racers in their own rights and Norris is, in fact, a World Championship contender for this season. Soon, the F1 audience might see a repeat of 2019 as next year’s grid will welcome three new talents to join the pinnacle of motorsports. Haas was the first team to announce a new contract with Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman. As per several reports, Jack Doohan and Kimi Antonelli will also make their contract announcements in the upcoming days. But there is one rookie whose fate still remains in question–Liam Lawson.

Lawson has stayed loyal to Red Bull Racing ever since joining their junior team in 2019. Currently serving as a reserve driver for both the Austrian outfit and its sister team VCARB, Lawson awaits an F1 entry in 2025. However, the stakeholders at Red Bull’s Milton-Keynes headquarters have not announced their plans for him yet. As per a contract that the New Zealander has with Christian Horner‘s army, if they fail to offer him an F1 seat by September of this year, he can become a free agent and approach other teams for a seat.

But before Lawson comes to leave Red Bull, Helmut Marko has assured that a decision regarding his future will be made by next month. Given Sergio Perez’s inability to match with Max Verstappen’s scores in the current season (the Mexican is 146 points behind his teammate), Liam Lawson stands a chance to bag Checo’s seat. However, that scenario might not work out as per Red Bull CEO Peter Bayer.

He told Motorsport, “Helmut said it himself, in German you say a swallow doesn’t make a summer. What it means is that if Yuki keeps racing on this level consistently, he will be considered for a seat in Red Bull Racing.” Now, while Yuki’s name has come up in the mix for potential replacements for Perez, what did the Japanese say about his preparations for the Red Bull seat?

Yuki Tsunoda has warned Red Bull against making a “weird” decision

Christian Horner has already termed the results that Sergio Perez is bringing for Red Bull as “unsustainable“. Thus, even though the Mexican signed a two-year contract earlier this season, RBR can sack him by enacting the performance clause in the deal. And then, Red Bull will be on the lookout for a new recruit to take up Perez’s job. However, according to Yuki Tsunoda, the decision has to be well-planned. He said, “If they [Red Bull] choose Liam [Lawson], that would be weird.”

If Lawson is a “weird” choice, does Yuki Tsunoda think that he is the right man for Sergio Perez’s job? In response to this, the 24-year-old said, “Yeah. If I’m not ready, I wouldn’t have been able to announce next season at least for even VCARB. Obviously, I’m feeling ready, compared to the last three years, to fight against top teams, higher positions, even with Max or whatever.” Till now, Daniel Ricciardo had been the prime choice for Red Bull’s seat. But then, Liam Lawson’s name has also been floating around as a potential replacement for Checo.

Recently, it is Yuki Tsunoda who has been named a favorite by Red Bull CEO Peter Bayer himself. Out of these three talents, whom would you want to see take up a seat beside Max Verstappen next year? Let us know in the comments.