After giving 2 races to Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull timeline revealed by Helmut Marko

Red Bull Racing boss Helmut Marko has disclosed that Yuki Tsunoda will have until the end of the season to prove his mettle against Max Verstappen as he joins the top team from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards. It was announced earlier this week that Liam Lawson, who had driven the second RB21 for two races, will be replaced by the Japanese driver, while Lawson takes his place in Red Bull's sister team of Racing Bulls.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5, Marko spoke about the internal driver switch and indicated that Tsunoda will have until the race in Abu Dhabi in December to demonstrate his worth in the Austrian team.

"Because we believe he can do the job," Marko said, adding, "Tsunoda made a big step. It's strange after four years, now in his fifth year, he is a much stronger personality, he has more confidence and he did two very good races, it's just his strategy didn't work at Racing Bulls."

Liam Lawson was demoted to the sister team after only two races, in which he scored no points. The team advisor also spoke to why he believes that the Kiwi driver failed to perform.

"His performance was unfortunately not good enough and that comes from self-confidence."

"[He had] lost confidence and he couldn't show his real potential," according to Marko.

Yuki Tsunoda's promotion comes after spending four years and 89 race starts with AlphaTauri/VCARB, having stayed with the team since his debut in Formula 1 in 2021. During his tenure with the team, Tsunoda achieved a highest finish of fourth place - which came in his first year in the sport. His highest standing in the drivers' championship came last year, when the 24-year-old accumulated 30 points to take 12th place on the table.

Yuki Tsunoda has also already scored points this year, winning three points from his sixth-place finish at the Sprint race this past weekend. The driver's first stint in the RB21 this season will take place at the first practice session at the Suzuka Circuit on April 4th.

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Yuki Tsunoda's first race with Red Bull will mark the return of special 2021 livery

Max Verstappen driving the RB16B Honda during the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 10, 2021 - Source: Getty

Apart from the Japanese Grand Prix marking Yuki Tsunoda's first Red Bull outing, the team has also decided to pay tribute to its power unit manafacturer Honda in a special way for its home race. The Austrian team will be bringing back the white livery that was used in the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix on the RB16B.

The predominantly white paint scheme makes use of red to highlight the Red Bull logo that is painted on the engine cover, with minor blue accents that are seen towards the front and rear of the car. The livery was initially supposed to debut in the 2020 Japanese Grand Prix, but since that was cancelled due to the pandemic, it showed up a year later in Istanbul.

A complete look at the livery is expected to be revealed ahead of the race weekend.

Yukis Tsunoda, driving the white RB21, will make his Red Bull race debut on April 6th at the Japanese Grand Prix, taking place at the Suzuka Circuit.