Red Bull 'ignored' former F1 team boss over major driver error

Christian Horner, Red Bull, Monaco, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Red Bull 'ignored' former team boss over major driver error

A former Red Bull boss has revealed how the F1 team chose to ignore his key driver advice

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 26 April 2025 12:57 Updated: 18:50

A former Formula 1 team boss has revealed that Red Bull ignored his advice over a major driver decision which has not ended well for Christian Horner's outfit.

The former constructors' champions find themselves third in the team standings after the first five rounds of the 2025 campaign, with even reigning drivers' title holder Max Verstappen struggling to extract performance out of the RB21.

Alongside the four-time champion is Red Bull's newest number two driver Yuki Tsunoda, who has had to adapt to the infamously tricky F1 machinery after a late change in the main team's driver lineup this season.

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Tsunoda started the year with Red Bull's junior outfit Racing Bulls, marking his fifth season with the team and making no effort to hide his disappointment at missing out on a promotion to the main team after Sergio Perez's exit.

Many believed Tsunoda had been robbed of a chance to prove himself in the hardest job in motorsport, including Franz Tost, the junior team's former principal.

Red Bull initiate embarrassing U-turn on Tsunoda seat

The F1 outfit now known as Racing Bulls was headed up by Tost for almost 20 years during the Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri days, where Tsunoda got his start in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Now, in an interview with German outlet Sport1, Tost has revealed that he advised Red Bull on Perez's replacement, with the team seemingly choosing to go against his opinion initially.

"I said take Yuki Tsunoda. He has the experience, he's fast, he can do it. How the decision turned out is well known," Tost revealed, referring to the fact that Red Bull opted to promote Liam Lawson instead of the much more experienced Japanese racer.

The Austrian was pivotal in Tsunoda's development after joining the F1 grid in 2021 and clearly pinpointed him to Horner and his Red Bull advisors as the sensible replacement for Perez.

The 69-year-old continued, revealing he was not surprised over Lawson's swap with Tsunoda after just two races.

"It was a wrong decision. Because Tsunoda is faster than Lawson and more experienced. There's nothing to discuss," Tost declared.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Christian Horner Sergio Perez Yuki Tsunoda