Red Bull makes shock early-season driver change ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix
Photo Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
A week before the first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing officially announced that the team had replaced Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda. A shock move to many in Formula One, the swap had been reported by numerous reliable sources earlier in the week.
The move comes after a disappointing start to the season for Red Bull and Lawson. The 23-year-old New Zealand racing driver had just two Grand Prix and a sprint race with his new team before being axed by Christian Horner, Team Principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing. Horner chose Lawson over Tsunoda at the end of last season to replace the underperforming Sergio Perez for the 2025 season.
"It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and as a result, we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch," said Christian Horner in a story released by the team. "We came into the 2025 season, with two ambitions, to retain the World Drivers' Championship and to reclaim the World Constructors' title and this is a purely sporting decision.”
Lawson did not finish the opening race of the season in Australia, crashing on Lap 47 of his 12th-ever grand prix. The following weekend, Lawson finished 14th in the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Race and 12th in the 56-lap race, only after three cars were disqualified. The 23-year-old’s qualifying sessions weren’t any better. Lawson qualified 18th at the Australian Grand Prix and last for both the Chinese Grand Prix and Sprint Qualifying.
Lawson’s two-race stint at Red Bull was the shortest in team history.
The Hastings, New Zealand native was demoted back to Red Bull’s Formula One junior team, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. Lawson had been a reserve driver in the Red Bull Racing system, filling in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo in 2023 and replacing the aforementioned Australian with six races left last season.
Replacing Lawson at Red Bull is 24-year-old Yuki Tsunoda.
"We acknowledge there is a lot of work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki's experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car,” Horner said. “We welcome him to the Team and are looking forward to seeing him behind the wheel of the RB21."
The two have featured in the same Formula One Grand Prix 13 times with Tsunoda outscoring Lawson eight to six in those races. Tsunoda also out-qualified Lawson in all but one of those races.
Tsunoda has 89 race starts, the second most for Red Bull’s junior team. The Japanese driver finished 12th in the 2024 World Drivers’ Championship and has accumulated 94 points since his debut in 2021. His best race finish came during his rookie season when he finished fourth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix while driving for Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda. Last season, he qualified third for the Brazilian Grand Prix, his best starting position to date.
The 2020 FIA Rookie of the Year had been a Red Bull junior driver since 2019, quickly rising through the FIA Formula 3 and 2 series. Tsunoda finally gets the chance to break through at the senior Red Bull team, driving alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
While Verstappen has not spoken to the media since the shock move, his stance has been evident through his actions on social media. Verstappen liked an Instagram post by fellow Dutchman and former Formula One driver Giedo van der Garde supporting Lawson and accusing Red Bull of “bullying.” The post was also liked by current drivers on this year’s grid including former Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly.
Lawson’s first two races of the season were at tracks he had no prior experience driving at. Next week he will be racing at Suzuka Circuit, a track he is more familiar with having raced in Japan, but it will be for Racing Bulls instead of Red Bull Racing.
With a car and system tailored toward one of the sport’s greatest drivers, being Verstappen’s teammate hasn’t been easy for many. Sergio Perez was Verstappen’s most successful teammate, lasting 90 races with the team and winning five between 2021-2024. Lawson replaced Perez for this season but lasted just two races. Before Perez, current Williams driver Alex Albon was Verstappen’s teammate for 26 Grand Prix before being demoted to the team’s reserve driver. Gasly lasted only 12 races before he was demoted back to Red Bull’s junior team mid-season in 2019. The French racer is now the lead driver at Alpine F1 Team.
Tsunoda will enter the second Red Bull car with much more experience than Lawson but much more pressure given how hungry Horner is to reclaim the World Constructors’ Championship. Tsunoda’s first race with his new team will come at his home Grand Prix in Japan next Sunday, April 6.
