Red Bull passes on Tsunoda: This is why Lawson gets the chance alongside Verstappen

A wrist injury prevents Hadjar from taking part in the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend. His replacement will be Liam Lawson rather than Yuki Tsunoda, who is Red Bull Racing's reserve driver this season.

Tsunoda is more experienced and, moreover, is the designated reserve driver. He also knows what it is like to be Max Verstappen's teammate and knows the team inside out.

Despite all that, the Japanese driver will not be sitting in the RB22, but will instead fill in for Lawson at Racing Bulls. GPblog understands that this decision was made because Lawson is more familiar with the current cars. Moreover, there was relatively little time between the news of Hadjar's injury and the race, leaving Tsunoda with hardly any time to prepare.

It's not the first time a team has opted for an alternative over its reserve driver, similar to when George Russell replaced Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.

During the Christian Horner and Helmut Marko era, Red Bull Racing was not known for giving drivers a second chance. With Laurent Mekies at the helm, that has changed, with Lawson becoming the first driver to get a second shot. The New Zealander has earned it with his rock-solid season so far.

With the Racing Bulls car, Lawson has been the best of the rest, sitting behind the drivers from the four leading teams in the standings and ahead of his highly rated teammate, Arvid Lindblad.

For the young Briton, this step may have come too soon. Red Bull may have felt it was better to let the rookie continue developing away from the spotlight.

With this temporary promotion, Red Bull is also sending a positive signal to Lawson. The team is acknowledging his steady progress and seems to see a future for him. Does this mean Lawson will race for one of the Red Bull teams in 2027 as well? Based on his current season, that should no longer really be a question, but it is still not a certainty.

In any case, thanks to Hadjar's absence, Lawson is getting a fantastic opportunity to show what he can do. Who knows, there could even be a permanent promotion to Red Bull Racing at some point if the New Zealander can demonstrate with the senior team what he has been doing for months with the junior outfit.