3 weeks ago
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Red Bull are poised to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda after just two races of the Formula One season. Tsunoda would join Max Verstappen for his home grand prix in Japan next week, with Lawson likely returning to the Racing Bulls feeder team.
Lawson was promoted from Racing Bulls to replace Mexican driver Sergio Pérez but has struggled in his first two race weekends in Australia and China. The 23-year-old New Zealander was with Tsunoda in Red Bull’s feeder team for six races last season, after being drafted in as replacement for Daniel Ricciardo.
With Pérez departing after a dismal season where he finished eighth in the drivers’ world championship, Lawson was preferred to Tsunoda in Red Bull’s second seat. While Verstappen is second in the 2025 standings, eight points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, Lawson has failed to score a point in Melbourne or Shanghai.
Japan’s Tsunoda has made a stronger start and scored three points when he finished sixth in the Shanghai sprint last Saturday. The Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, said after the Chinese Grand Prix that Lawson was struggling but the team would support him as best they could.
Red Bull have a history of swapping out Verstappen’s teammates, with the four-times world champion still the clear No 1 at a team who lost the constructors’ title to McLaren last year.
Verstappen has acknowledged the current car is difficult to drive, with Lawson saying in Shanghai that he was struggling to get performance out of it. That task now appears set to be Tsunoda’s at Suzuka, with Lawson likely to return to Racing Bulls alongside newcomer Isack Hadjar, who finished a place ahead of him in 11th at the Chinese Grand Prix.
