Red Bull Racing look set to make one of the boldest decisions in their Formula 1 history.
After just two Grand Prix, Liam Lawson looks set to lose his seat at Red Bull after a difficult start to the 2025 season.
Lawson has failed to score a point this year, and the Chinese Grand Prix saw him record a P12 finish despite three cars ahead of him being disqualified.
Lawson is expected to be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda with the Japanese driver finally earning a promotion to the senior Red Bull team after years of being overlooked.
Tsunoda had to watch Red Bull persist with Sergio Perez, bring in Daniel Ricciardo to assess his suitability to drive alongside Max Verstappen and see the less experienced Lawson earn an unlikely promotion before being given his chance.
Team principal Christian Horner has had question marks over Tsunoda for some time, and it feels like the decision to promote the 24-year-old is being made out of desperation rather than a sudden change of heart about the Racing Bulls driver.
However, Tsunoda has always said racing for Red Bull has been his dream and he’s been saying the right things in his career to suggest that he’s ready for the step up.
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Damon Hill admires Yuki Tsunoda’s ‘pluck’ after Max Verstappen Red Bull comment
Tsunoda was talking to Viaplay at last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix after Verstappen had won the championship about the prospect of a promotion to Red Bull and said: “I am ready to fight against that monster, but at the same time, well done to him, congrats.”
Hill read Tsunoda’s comments about Verstappen and responded on Instagram, saying: “You can’t deny it, he has pluck!”
It highlights how determined the 24-year-old is to prove himself against arguably the fastest driver on the grid right now, and soon he’ll get his chance to go toe-to-toe with the Dutchman.
Verstappen believes Lawson will be faster at Racing Bulls due to the larger operating window of the VCARB 02.
Tsunoda will have very little time to get up to speed in the much harder-to-drive RB21.
The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka is at least a track that Tsunoda knows very well, but he will be even less well prepared than Lawson was when he made his debut in Australia.
He’s not had the benefit of any pre-season testing and judging by the New Zealander’s performances, the cars share very few similarities.
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Yuki Tsunoda must carry recent confidence into Red Bull debut
Tsunoda had a dig at Lawson with one of his comments in China and will be hoping that doesn’t come back to bite him.
The three points Tsunoda has scored this season don’t quite reflect how well he’s been performing for Racing Bulls.
Fans were furious with Tsunoda’s strategy in Australia that denied him a very good haul, having qualified fifth.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Lando Norris |
44 |
| 2 |
Max Verstappen |
36 |
| 3 |
George Russell |
35 |
| 4 |
Oscar Piastri |
34 |
| 5 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
22 |
| 6 |
Alexander Albon |
16 |
| 7 |
Esteban Ocon |
10 |
| 8 |
Lance Stroll |
10 |
| 9 |
Lewis Hamilton |
9 |
| 10 |
Charles Leclerc |
8 |
| 11 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
6 |
| 12 |
Oliver Bearman |
4 |
| 13 |
Yuki Tsunoda |
3 |
Racing Bulls made the same mistake in China, two-stopping during a race where almost every other team opted to pit only once.
Tsunoda then suffered a front wing failure that ended any hopes of sneaking into the top 10.
However, he can take plenty of confidence from how he’s started 2025, but the next race in Japan will be a completely different challenge.
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