> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Our verdict on Lawson and Tsunoda's Dutch GP call-ups - URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/our-verdict-lawson-tsunoda-dutch-gp-f1-call-ups/ - Published: 2026-08-19T11:20:11.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-19T11:29:34.000Z - Description: Liam Lawson is back in a Red Bull Racing car and Yuki Tsunoda is back on the F1 grid. Here's what we think about that - Author: The Race Team - Tags: Formula 1, #red-bull, #liam-lawson, #yuki-tsunoda, #racing-bulls, #primary_homepage_feature Liam Lawson is back in a Red Bull Racing Formula 1 car and Yuki Tsunoda is back on the F1 grid at the Dutch Grand Prix. But has Red Bull made the right choices in its contingency plan around [Isack Hadjar's wrist injury?](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/lawson-replaces-injured-hadjar-as-tsunoda-gets-f1-return/) Are these actually good opportunities for Lawson and Tsunoda? Here are our team's snap verdicts. ## Right choice for Red Bull, best choice for Tsunoda **Edd Straw** When in need of a stand-in driver, teams will rightly be pragmatic. They need the driver best-placed to slot in and do the job, and in the Red Bull stable Lawson is the best-qualified at this time. That's unfortunate for Tsunoda, who is officially Red Bull Racing's reserve, but particularly given the challenges of the 2026 power units it's logical to put in a driver who has significant experience of the harvesting and deployment challenges. That augments the usual advantages such as familiarity with the tyres and race sharpness, meaning that it's unlikely Red Bull had to spend too much time thinking about how to cover Hadjar's absence. I'd also argue it's an advantage for Tsunoda to be in the Racing Bulls instead. He's slotting into a car that, heading into this weekend, is the class of the midfield in an environment where he has done his best work in F1\. When it comes to boosting his own chances of getting back into an F1 race seat at a time when he's having to look elsewhere, he's probably better off having a shot of catching the eye in the midfield rather than being pitched in at Red Bull. ## Lawson needs to make it count, Lindblad's time will come **Gary Anderson** It's a pity for Hadjar that he has to sit this one out but I think Lawson is the right choice. He didn't get a real chance when he joined Red Bull before, so this is a second opportunity to show his real talent. Not many get that so he needs to make it count. It would be too much pressure - if that is the right word - to promote Arvid Lindblad this time. He is doing a great job in his first year so leave him alone to sort out some of his little mistakes. Give him time, his opportunity will come. ## This should be Lindblad's shot **Josh Suttill** I'm delighted that Lawson is getting this chance, having been unfairly treated at the start of last year, but I can't help but feel...why not promote Lindblad? The 19-year-old has had a brilliant rookie F1 season and has looked on the pace from the off in Australia. He's only been on average a tenth of a second behind Lawson in qualifying and has had weekends such as Spa where he's been clearly quicker. As dependable a points scorer he is, I don't see Lawson securing a permanent return to Red Bull Racing because of how poorly the first stint went. The same goes for Tsunoda. So why not give Lindblad the chance? He's risen to all the pressure in F1 so far. He's shown to be very quick at adapting and has avoided many of the mistakes that blighted his Formula 2 season last year. He looks like a future Red Bull Racing driver, so why not try him out and get an early answer on whether he can hack it alongside Max Verstappen? Ferrari did it with then-complete rookie Ollie Bearman in Jeddah in 2024 when it could have turned to a more experienced hand. And Mercedes got a lot out of testing out George Russell (as stand-in for Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir GP) in late 2020, over a year before it gave him the full-time seat. Red Bull is all about taking big swings, after all. I wonder if this is the first sign that the new regime has moved away from that... ## A pivotal moment for Tsunoda **Jack Benyon** Could this change everything for Tsunoda? At the end of his Red Bull stint last year he was linked to an IndyCar seat for 2026 which never happened, but Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist joining McLaren has left a seat open at Rosenqvist's current team, Meyer Shank Racing, that Tsunoda is now linked to. Tsunoda would be a great fit for that. The team is regularly open to looking further afield for its drivers and his style would suit driving an IndyCar. It's also a Honda-powered team. There's nothing yet to suggest Hadjar could miss more than one race. But even if it is just one race, could Tsunoda do enough to reinvigorate his chances of a future F1 seat which pulls him away from a switch Stateside? I'm not sure people grasp how pivotal a point in Tsunoda's career this is, as if he makes the IndyCar switch he'll almost certainly not race in F1 again. Can he use a Nyck de Vries-at-Monza-style race to change his F1 future? ## Lawson must undo some damage here **Matt Beer** Lawson's previous Red Bull Racing stint being both so catastrophic and so brief has so far threatened to define the rest of his career. Any good work he's done back at Racing Bulls so far comes with the caveat of his biggest F1 chance yet having gone so badly. Being ninth the championship (best driver outside a top-four team and impressively close to his Red Bull replacement Hadjar) and the team being so positive about his improvement this year is harder to shout about when Lindblad's bright start to life in F1 has caught the attention too. With Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov leading F2 right now in his first full season, Lawson's F1 future looked like it would either be relatively brief or limited to 'experienced benchmark in second team' status prior to this chance. Get somewhere near Verstappen, or match what Hadjar's been doing despite being new to the car, and Lawson could change his storyline considerably.