Red Bull’s 2025 has been plunged into chaos after deciding to swap Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda following two disastrous races with the team.
After just 10 days being a Red Bull driver, Lawson has been demoted back to Racing Bulls with Tsunoda set to make a sensational debut for the Milton Keynes squad at his home race in Japan.
The decision has come after a torrid start to 2025 for the 23-year-old New Zealander, having been knocked out in Q1 twice and required to start from the pit lane. After crashing out in the tricky conditions in Melbourne, Lawson failed to progress any higher than P15 on the road in China.
Lawson was given some saving grace in the results when both Ferrari’s and Pierre Gasly were disqualified for technical infringements, leading to him being promoted to P12. But onlookers in the Chinese GP paddock felt Lawson knew the writing was on the wall for his Red Bull future after the race.
Much has been said about why the team came to the decision to swap their drivers, however, a report has emerged in The Athletic that claims billionaire owners of Red Bull GmbH also got involved in the decision.
Billionaire owners of Red Bull GmbH were involved in Liam Lawson decision
Red Bull’s ownership is split into two groups, with 51% majority owned by Thai Billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya, who is a reclusive figure in F1 and usually takes a hands-off approach.
Yoovidhya was present in Bahrain in 2024 as a show of support for team principal Christian Horner, following the media furore over his conduct within the team.
According to The Athletic’s report, Yoovidhya had “privately indicated concerns” over Lawson’s performances in the season’s opening races.
A meeting was held in Dubai in the days after the Chinese GP and all were said to be aligned with the changed that was required.
Christian Horner says Red Bull has ‘duty of care’ to protect Liam Lawson
Announcing the news on social media, Red Bull made little reference to Lawson and simply stated that Tsunoda would be partnering with Verstappen from Japan.
Horner explained the decision in a press release by Red Bull as “purely sporting,” noting that they have a duty of care to their drivers if they see them struggling.
“We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience, as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”
Honda is doubling the money it will pay to Red Bull to have Tsunoda in the seat, as the Japanese driver is part of their driver programme.
Tsunoda will now realise the dream that he set out to achieve when he was 18 years old in front of his home crowd, but the pressure will be on for him to deliver a decent result.
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