SHANGHAI — Liam Lawson has said he “couldn’t care less” what Zak Brown thinks after the McLaren CEO suggested Red Bull should have promoted Yuki Tsunoda instead of him this year.
Brown was speaking to Sky Sports following the first qualifying session of the season last Saturday in which Lawson had qualified 18th for Red Bull.
The McLaren boss, who has a longstanding grudge with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, was quoted saying Tsunoda, who qualified fifth for junior team Racing Bulls, should have been chosen as Max Verstappen‘s teammate instead of Lawson this year.
“I think it’s going to be a very exciting year,” Brown said. “Yuki did a great job, [he’s] probably the guy that should be in the Red Bull if you look at how he’s performed.
“But they [Red Bull] seem to make some strange driver choices.”
Lawson’s debut with his new team did not improve in Sunday’s race as he struggled to make progress through the field and crashed out on lap 46.
Asked if he’d seen the comments made by Brown, the New Zealander said: “I couldn’t care less what Zak says to be honest.
“I haven’t spoken to him, I don’t really think ever, and I haven’t read any social media for the last two weeks, so yeah.”
Meanwhile, Tsunoda welcomed Brown’s support but said it was not unusual for those outside Red Bull to comment on the team’s driver choices.
“I appreciate what Zak said about me in the press, but we just want to race,” he said during Thursday’s media day ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.
“And these things [have] been going on since last year’s first race.
“Daniel [Ricciardo] or Checo; [Sergio Pérez], myself or Checo; Liam or Checo; it’s a kind of bit of a tradition for our [Red Bull] group. I mean, it’s positive obviously, but at the same time I just have to keep doing what I’m doing.
“In the end, last year at the end of the season, they chose this time the lineup and maybe they had clear plans for the future.
“I don’t know, but I’m wearing this [Racing Bulls] t-shirt and the logo and push for that team, maximise the performance. I still believe myself, that I have a lot more to improve to prove myself, so I just focus on that.”
