F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda pulled out by Red Bull official over interview response

There has been mayhem in the Red Bull garage with the team boss being ambushed and a star driver being pulled away by a media minder.

Three months after Max Verstappen was crowned world champion for a fourth time, Red Bull is on the brink of disarray.

The curse of the team’s second seat appears to be running on replay again with Kiwi Liam Lawson already under pressure to keep his job after another qualifying disaster on Saturday night.

The tensions in the team have been exposed in the moment Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda appeared to be led away by a team media minder after being asked about his former teammate Lawson following a wild day of qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix.

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Aussie Oscar Piastri claimed his first pole position, but the biggest talking point has been the sight of Lawson finishing dead last, putting himself in P20 to start Sunday night’s race at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Lawson is also coming off a miserable P18 qualifying performance at the Australian Grand Prix. He did not reach the chequered flag in Melbourne, spinning out of the race in the wet conditions. Lawson was also P20 in qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race won by Lewis Hamilton.

The 23-year-old’s woes continued later on Saturday with Tsunoda’s performance in the junior Red Bull team further exposing his own failures.

Yuki Tsunoda interviewed by Sky Sports in the pit lane media paddock. Photo: Kayo.

The Japanese driver was coming off a shock P5 finish in qualifying at Albert Park and he piloted his Racing Bulls car to P9 on Saturday.

There is already immense pressure on Lawson to keep his spot in the top team with eyebrows raised about why he was promoted to be Verstappen’s teammate ahead of Tsunoda.

The internal team drama went up another level when Tsunoda fronted cameras in the media paddock behind pit lane.

The 24-year-old was asked if he would be happy to take Lawson’s seat if the offer presented itself.

“Yeah, why not. Always,” he responded.

He was asked about the potential of him bumping Lawson before his home Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in two weeks’ time.

He replied: “In Japan? Yeah, 100 per cent. I mean, the car is faster.”

According to motorsport.com, Tsunoda was then pulled out by the team’s public relations officer because the conversation was getting too casual.

Lawson looked every bit like a driver with the weight of the world on his shoulders when speaking to reporters after qualifying.

“It’s just a very small window,” Lawson said, describing the car’s narrow operating band, per Autosport. “It’s hard, you know — it’s hard to drive, to get it in that window.

“I’d like to say that with time that’ll come. I just don’t have time to do that, it’s something I need to get on top of.”

The second Red Bull seat has been cursed ever since Daniel Ricciardo departed the team with Sergio Perez last year becoming the latest driver axed.

The Mexican driver was even paid out millions of dollars to terminate his contract early.

Perez was nowhere near Verstappen in both qualifying and championship points, and it was expected that his replacement would bridge the gap.

It hasn’t.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner was asked in brutal fashion on live TV by Kravitz whether the team had made the right decision in overlooking Tsunoda.

You can watch Horner’s brutal interview exchange in the video player above.

Horner did not seem pleased when Kravitz asked if the team has a “little Liam Lawson problem”.

Horner responded: “It’s been a tough day in the office for him today, so we’ll have a good look at it and go through it and obviously try and give him the best car for tomorrow.”

Then Kravitz hit him with a brutal truth bomb.

“But you need him to score the Constructors’ [Championship] points. You didn’t pay off Checo (Perez) for this, did you? I mean, the point was to replace Checo with a quicker driver, and is he just not a quicker driver?”

Horner did not offer much of a response.

“As I said, we’ll have a good look at it, and we’ll do what we can tomorrow,” Horner replied.

Lawson may already be walking the plank with Red Bull kingmaker De Helmut Marko last week suggesting the team had a five-race period for the Kiwi to find his feet.

That gives Lawson some much-needed breathing space for the moment, but a five-race plan means his job is far from secure.

Originally published as F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda pulled out by Red Bull official over interview response