‘Crushed’ F1 driver losing his seat mid-season now ‘not out of the question’ after failing to impress this year

The Formula 1 driver market is constantly grinding away behind the scenes in the paddock with teams constantly assessing their options.

The 2025 F1 season has already seen two driver swaps take place after the first seven Grand Prix.

Red Bull decided that enough was enough after the first two races this year, promoting Yuki Tsunoda into Liam Lawson’s seat in what appeared to be an incredibly tough decision.

Max Verstappen wasn’t completely on board with Lawson’s demotion such was the speed that Christian Horner and Helmut Marko acted with.

Ahead of the triple header, Alpine then made the decision many had been expecting since pre-season by switching Jack Doohan for Franco Colapinto.

Colapinto impressed David Coulthard with his race pace at Imola during the beginning of the race but was nowhere near the points on his first outing for the team.

The F1 driver market could spring into action again, with things looking more and more concerning for Lawson within the Red Bull hierarchy.

Liam Lawson losing his Racing Bulls seat ‘not out of the question’ during the summer break

A report from The Race has shared more information about what could happen at Red Bull and Racing Bulls over the next 12 months.

Lawson, Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar are all out of contract at the end of the year, although it would be a huge shock if the French rookie isn’t offered a new deal.

Tsunoda doesn’t look like he’s going to lose his seat during the 2025 campaign, however, he’s not doing much to convince Horner that he deserves an extension.

However, the report states that Lawson losing his seat during the summer break is ‘not out of the question’ given his poor performances this year.

He’s now one of five drivers yet to score a point in the drivers’ championship, alongside Doohan, Colapinto, Gabriel Bortoleto and Fernando Alonso.

The most likely candidate to replace Lawson would be F2 star Arvid Lindblad, who turns 18 and would therefore be eligible for a super license at the beginning of August and is considered an ‘immediate threat’ to the New Zealander’s future.

This would coincide perfectly with the summer break, which gives Lawson eight more races to prove that he deserves his place on the grid.

What has Arvid Lindblad said about being promoted to Formula 1 with Red Bull?

Asked during the race weekend at Imola how he feels about a potential Formula 1 promotion, 17-year-old Lindblad said: “I don’t feel any pressure from anyone, I want to win, I want to be in Formula 1.

“I want to win world championships, I’ve had that goal since I was five when I started this journey.

“I just sort of push myself to perform and on the free practices, I don’t know, you’ll have to talk to Red Bull.”

The next step for the British teenager is to take part in a free practice session for the team, as Lindblad has already driven a Formula 1 car during a Red Bull promotional event.

Journalist Edd Straw was asked a question on The Race’s Patreon about Lawson’s future and the impending super license that Lindblad will be eligible for in the summer and said: “Yeah, he’s [Lawson] got ability, you want to see him make the most of it, but I think he’s kind of at the moment, he feels like he might be sleepwalking towards F1 oblivion.

“But, he’s not been far off, it could come together. That’s what he needs to do.”

Lawson has struggled to match Hadjar’s pace since re-joining Racing Bulls and desperately needs a strong weekend to remind people of the potential he showed in 2023 and 2024 that earned him a seat alongside Verstappen at the start of the year.

Jacques Villeneuve suggested Lawson looked ‘crushed’ earlier in the season and his performances simply haven’t recovered since his demotion.

He’s a talented driver who can regularly score points in the right car, but Red Bull is not an environment that allows drivers to slowly get up to speed.