Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Bob McMurray: Motorsport expert on the speculation around Liam Lawson's future with Red Bull Racing

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Bob McMurray: Motorsport expert on the speculation around Liam Lawson's future with Red Bull Racing · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: People have texted about Liam Lawson saying why are you guys?
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: This is just because he's a Kiwi that you guys
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: are so obsessed about it. This is a massive global story.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: You would not believe the number of people who are
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: commenting on this, whether it's social media or generally because
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: if one is a huge sport and it just so
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: happens that the kiwi is at the center of it.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: So we've got reports that Liam Lawson will be cut
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: from Red Bull's top team. There's been no official announcement
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: I've checked so far. I'll check in a moment with Bob,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: but the Dutch newspaper did Telegraph reported yesterday that Poorld
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Liam's been dropped by Red Bull will be replaced by
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Yuki Sonoda in Japan. His time in F one isn't
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: expected to be completely finished. He could return to the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Racing Bulls feeder team, which he drove for last season.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: And that's a not too bad cart. So motorsport expert
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Bob McMurray joins me.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Now, Hello, Bob, good morning, Andrews.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Have you had any more intel on this? Is this
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: really happening? Because I don't think I've actually seen an
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: official confirmation. No.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Since I got up earlier this morning, I looked at
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: every single Red Bill outlet and there is nothing confirmed.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: No stories say this is going to happen or not
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: going to happen at all. And apparently the only thing
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: I've seen is that discussions are ongoing. So I don't know,
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: but yeah, it doesn't look good with informed sources, especially
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: the Dutch, saying that it's going to happen. It's got
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: to believe that it may well do.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: Yes, this is a team that is associated with the
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Dutch and they often do leaks through Dutch media. Of course,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: the whole world's speculating. Is this piece of speculation for you?
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: And do you think that red Ball actually suffered a
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Honda power play Because it's the Japanese Grand Prix. They
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: wanted a Japanese driver there, and of course they have
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: a lot of money, and so they said, well, you know,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: let's try this out, and Red Bull's calling their bluff.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: Well, I think if Liam Lawson had been scoring points
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: and he'd been doing very well, this would never have
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: come up at all. But the mere fact they've been
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: thinking about it, perhaps read the Honda people backing Sonoda
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: have got wind of it and said, okay, if you
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: can put him in the car, will give you an
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: extra ten or fifteen million or whatever it is to
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: do that. So but the underlying problem, of course is
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: that them has not, in their eyes, performed well enough
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: to stay in the team, which is very short sighted.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: He's being made escapegoat in my opinion, for the failings
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: of the team themselves and the way they organized their
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: young driver's program and the way they have not given
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: him any time in the seat. And it's a fairly
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: brutal decision from against him.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Yperi has had ninety races, ninety, Ricciardo had what was
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: it eighteen or something. Everyone's had a greater chance. Gas
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: he had a greater chance, but Liam just too. And
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: there we go. But there we go, and that is
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: that is the caliber of the Rebel team at the moment.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Why doesn't Christian Horner fall on his sword because he's
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: obviously made two crappy cars.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: Yep, well you could say that a car, Actually, yes,
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: you did. The crappy car actually suits Max with Staban,
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: So it's not that crappy in Max with Stappin's hands.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: It's just that it's a very very difficult car for
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: any other driver to drive. Liam cannot drive in the
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: same manner that makes for staffand does to make that
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: car work. And that's the issue at point the car is.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't say designed around makes for Staffhan, but it
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: very closely is, because clearly he's the one that is
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: the points and everything else. So we're going to do
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: what he wants to do with the car. So Liam
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: sort of has to try and adapt, and unfortunately he
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: can't adapt to a car with a loose rear end.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Is the phrase that happens.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Amazing, amazing. Okay, we'll wait to see if anything concrete
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: is going to happen from all of this. But here's
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: the thing, this is not the end of Liam in
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: any way, shape or form. He can still drive a
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: car very fast. Apparently Audi and Williams have been sniffing
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: around and wouldn't it be hilarious if he got into
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: a racing ballcar and beat Yuki.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: For more from Early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live
• 3:46
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• 3:49
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