Team RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan waits in his car during the third practice session at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Barbour)

Cars took to the Suzuka circuit in Japan Friday in the third round of the Formula 1 (F1) championship, and all eyes were on the Red Bull team. Eyes are frequently on the team as it is the home of Max Verstappen, the current and four-consecutive-time world champion. They also revealed a white livery for their car this weekend (as a tribute to their engine partner Honda), a stark contrast to their usual dark blue color.

However, the added attention to the team was because of their number two driver, new to the team for this weekend. After just two races into the 24-race season this year, Red Bull replaced rookie Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda from the Racing Bulls team.

Lawson did drive in six races in the 2024 season, showing great promise in his first outing and then nothing much in a rather uncompetitive car for the remaining five races. Still, Lawson showed a competitive fire in his driving during that time, something that often resulted in accidents and him falling down the order. That fire was something lacking in Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate in 2024, and thus Lawson got the nod to partner Verstappen for 2025.

Qualifying in 18th, then crashing out in the first race this season didn’t impress anyone. Lawson went out in the first round of qualifying for both the sprint race (where he finished in 14th) and the main race (where he finished 12th after three disqualifications and a time penalty for a driver originally ahead), which left people scratching their heads in confusion.

For comparison, Max Verstappen managed to finish in second place in the first round, third place in the sprint race and fourth place in the main race in the second round. For all intents and purposes, Verstappen and Lawson are driving identical cars, so the huge gap in performance put an equally huge amount of pressure on the new young driver to explain why he couldn’t keep up with Verstappen.

People on the outside looking in could point to the fact Lawson hadn’t driven at either course in Australia or China before in his career. They did point to the history of Verstappen’s teammates struggling to come to terms with a car suited to Verstappen’s driving style. As for Lawson himself, he just blamed himself for not getting to grips with the car quicker.

Apparently Red Bull didn’t feel like giving Lawson more time to respond in the car, and instead had Tsunoda and Lawson trade places. F1 is a very high-pressure environment where drivers generally have to prove their worth week after week. All the same, Lawson’s forced departure from Red Bull felt abrupt.

Red Bull, as a team, was happy to have Verstappen achieve the driver’s title last year, but due to Perez’s lackluster driving in 2024, they lost the Constructor’s Championship to McLaren, and actually finished in third place behind Ferrari as well. In order to get that title back, they need to score points with both cars. Since Lawson couldn’t get his car anywhere close to the points, Red Bull finds themselves in third place already, 21 points behind Mercedes and 42 points behind McLaren.

As practice got underway in Japan, everyone was wondering how Yuki Tsunoda would fare behind the wheel of the Red Bull, partnering with Verstappen. Entering his fifth season, many speculated Tsunoda would get the seat instead of Lawson, and Tsunoda definitely took the perceived slight personally. Being directly compared to a four-time world champion is daunting, but Tsunoda has shown he won’t back down from anything or anyone on the track.

Even though many drivers have found it difficult to go head-to-head with Verstappen, the first practice session had to be a relief to Tsunoda who finished just 0.107 seconds behind his new teammate. They finished the session in fifth and sixth place. Overall, the team should be pretty happy with the results, but the race on Sunday is more important to everyone involved.

During the second practice session, Tsunoda could only manage 18th out of 20 cars. The session was disrupted by four red flag stoppages meaning many drivers couldn’t complete their run plans for the session. Even so, seeing the Racing Bulls in third and fifth (with the latter being Liam Lawson himself) while Verstappen was in eighth and Tsunoda in 18th, a little doubt could be creeping in for Tsunoda heading in to qualifying on Saturday.

When people can spare a glance away from the Red Bull team, many eyes shoot over to the scarlet red Ferrari cars, both of which were disqualified from the second round race in China. This was a particular blow to the team after Lewis Hamilton drove his Ferrari to a Sprint race win, something no one was really expecting.

So, why the disqualifications? Charles Leclerc was disqualified because his car weighed in at 799kg, one kilogram (or about 2.2 pounds) under the minimum weight requirement. Lewis Hamilton had his rear skid block 0.4mm (or about 0.015 inches) too thin by the end of the race.

Those differences could seem insignificant, but there is a lot of time to be gained in an F1 car if you can make it lighter and keep it running closer to the ground, the two things these rules are meant to counteract. Precision is necessary when the drivers are navigating the course, but also for the team to put out a legally competitive car in every session.

It is worth noting Ferrari did not challenge either disqualification and took the full blame for the result. Also worth noting, they lost 18 points in China since Leclerc finished the race in fifth and Hamilton in sixth, meaning the team should be one point behind Red Bull instead of 19, something which could come back to haunt them at the end of the season, particularly if Tsunoda can step up for Red Bull.

Still, Ferrari seems to have taken things in stride and not let it phase them as they finished the first practice session in Japan in third and fourth place. Tsunoda has initially shown any detractors he can compete with Verstappen and give Red Bull two cars in the points.

Many, many things can happen before qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday, so the stakes are still high for the teams and drivers, the pressure is on, and precision, from both driver and team, will be at a premium once again.