Liam Lawson achieved his Formula 1 dream when he secured a Red Bull seat for 2025. He’s spoken multiple times about driving for Christian Horner’s team in F1 video games as a child, such was his admiration.
The worst-case scenario, it seemed, was that Lawson would only last half a season, as Pierre Gasly did in 2019. Even the New Zealander’s biggest critics wouldn’t have envisaged him losing his drive after just two races.
But that’s exactly what has happened – Yuki Tsunoda has been promoted for the Japanese Grand Prix, with a dazed Lawson back in the Racing Bulls cockpit after just seven in-season days as a Red Bull race driver. He must now rebuild his confidence, his image and his career.
Karun Chandhok tried to encourage Lawson after the news broke on Thursday, pointing out that Gasly and Alex Albon both survived the brutal Red Bull axe. In fact, they were arguably better for it, with the former going on to win a race and score five podiums.
Red Bull even tried to re-sign Albon for 2025, so impressed were Christian Horner and Helmut Marko with his performances at Williams. But Lawson has suffered an ignominy far greater than either of those two drivers, and so he faces the greatest challenge.
Liam Lawson’s Red Bull demotion has been oddly ‘welcomed’ by his camp
Writing on X, journalist Thomas Maher relayed how Lawson’s camp were feeling about the driver swap. Surprisingly, there’s a sense of ‘relief’ rather than overarching disappointment.
They accept that Red Bull are trying to ‘protect’ the 23-year-old by relocating him to a lower-pressure environment. Horner and Marko seemed concerned he’d never recover if they allowed the spiral to continue.
Even if it’s embarrassing for Lawson, they also appreciate that the decision was made quickly. Perhaps that indicates a recognition that it was too early for a driver who had only started 11 races across 2023 and 2024.
Overall, ‘the opportunity to rebuild’ at the de facto junior team is ‘being welcomed’. Lawson knows he must beat Isack Hadjar, the rookie who’s made an impressive start, to keep his long-term prospects alive.
F1 rivals have privately given their verdict on Liam Lawson as Yuki Tsunoda replaces him
It would appear that Lawson’s now-former teammate, Max Verstappen, isn’t happy with Red Bull’s decision. Perhaps he thinks the team are skirting around the root cause of their problems by focusing on the second driver issue.
Verstappen even liked a post accusing Red Bull of ‘bullying’ Lawson, catching the eye of fans. The team will push him to react far more diplomatically when he speaks to the media before the Japanese GP.
Tsunoda aside, most of the attention at Suzuka will fall on Lawson. His demeanour and body language will demonstrate whether his camp are towing the party line, or whether he genuinely thinks the demotion is for the best.
Rival F1 drivers have seen Lawson lose self-belief this season as he struggled to explain the gaping deficit to Verstappen. They insist he hasn’t become a bad driver overnight, and he’ll look to prove that in Racing Bulls colours.
Leave feedback about this