“I think Liam’s had a tough couple of races, a tough weekend here,” Horner said.
“We elected to take him off the grid, out of Parce Ferme, to do a significant set-up change, so we managed to get 56 laps of reasonable data from that. Obviously, we’ll take that away, we’ll have a good look at it, and as a group we’ll do our best to support him.”
Horner said any suggestion they would replace Lawson was “purely speculative”.
“There’s always going to be speculation in the paddock. As I say, we’ve only just finished the race here, we’ll take away the info and have a good look at it.
“Look, I think everything is purely speculative at the moment. As I say, we’ve just finished this race, we’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it.
“I think Liam still has got potential, we’re just not realising that at the moment. I think the problem for him is he’s had a couple of really tough weekends and he’s got all the media on his back.
“The pressure just naturally grows in this business. I feel very sorry for him that he’s… you can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.
“He’s a young guy, we’ve got a duty to look after him. We’re going to do the best that we can to support him. Liam’s still a very capable driver, we know that, we’re just not… for whatever reason, we’re not seeing him able to deliver that at the moment.”
Asked if Tsunoda would be the “prime candidate” for Red Bull, Horner wouldn’t comment.
Horner stated: “I’m not even going to comment on a change, because that will be your first headline.
“As I say, we’re two races into this championship, we have a sample of two [races]. We have quite a bit of information, so we’re going to go away and have a good look at it, work with Liam, and do the best we can for him.
“There’s so much info [available], how he’s adapted driving the car, what he’s getting from the car, what we can do to help, where were his major issues, what’s causing the inconsistency… all of those issues.”
