Red Bull are expected to confirm imminently that they have dropped Liam Lawson after just two races. Yuki Tsunoda will replace him in a straight swap with Racing Bulls.
Lawson hasn’t come close to cracking the top 10 in either qualifying or the race so far. He started both the Sprint and the main Grand Prix at the back of the grid in China, having been knocked out in Q1 in Australia.
The 23-year-old crashed out on his Red Bull debut and couldn’t fight his way back into the points in Shanghai. He was 14th in the Sprint and 12th on Sunday, even after three disqualifications ahead of him.
In the same car, Max Verstappen has scored 36 points, putting him just eight behind Lando Norris in the championship. Red Bull have now taken the extraordinary decision to axe Lawson before the end of March.
They will turn to Tsunoda to break the cycle of failure in their second seat. Lawson joins Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly in losing the drive after glaring underperformance.
Yuki Tsunoda already testing on Red Bull simulator – before Liam Lawson exit is confirmed
Like Gasly, Lawson will have the option to return to the de facto junior team. They’re now largely based on the same campus in Milton Keynes.
That means he may have seen Tsunoda, his former teammate, visiting the Red Bull factory this week. According to RACER, Red Bull already instructed the Japanese driver to carry out a simulator session on Tuesday.
This is arguably disrespectful to Lawson. He’s still technically their driver, but staff have already begun working with his replacement.
| Category | Yuki Tsunoda | Liam Lawson |
| 2024 points | 8 | 4 |
| Grand Prix results | 4 | 2 |
| Grand Prix qualifying | 6 | 0 |
| Grand Prix wins | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Prix poles | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Prix podiums | 0 | 0 |
| Best finish | 7th | 9th |
| Retirements | 1 | 0 |
| Retirements (classified finish) | 0 | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Prix points finishes | 2 | 2 |
| Sprint results | 0 | 3 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 0 | 3 |
| Sprint wins | 0 | 0 |
| Sprint poles | 0 | 0 |
| Sprint podiums | 0 | 0 |
It would perhaps have been better to announce the swap at the beginning of the week – it’s already become a poorly-kept secret – before Tsunoda started his Suzuka preparations. Red Bull’s reputation has suffered in the eyes of many fans over the last few months.
They overlooked Tsunoda in December despite the fact he’d outperformed Lawson and had vastly more experience. And they’re now backtracking on that call almost immediately, potentially to the detriment of both drivers.
Yuki Tsunoda now set to drive Red Bull F1 car before Japanese Grand Prix
Racing Bulls insiders thought Tsunoda was a better option than Lawson, but Christian Horner and Helmut Marko overlooked their feedback. Verstappen’s newest teammate will now be at a lasting disadvantage compared to his fellow front-runners.
It’s worth remembering that Tsunoda had to wait until Abu Dhabi last year to test a Red Bull car. That reflected Red Bull’s generally ambivalent view of the 24-year-old.
As a result, Tsunoda has only experienced the car’s unique handling characteristics at a single circuit on a single day. He now faces the overwhelming pressure of pulling on the Red Bull suit for the first time at his home race.
Reports claim Tsunoda will complete a Red Bull show run in Tokyo ahead of the race. That will be a spectacular unveiling, but a low-key build-up may be better for the 89-start driver.
