Red Bull are expected to confirm Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson in their main team at the Japanese Grand Prix and will hand the Racing Bulls driver his debut early.
Despite the 2025 Formula 1 season only being two races in, Red Bull have already decided to demote Lawson after struggling sat beside Max Verstappen in Australia and China. The 23-year-old crashed in Melbourne and was slowest during both qualifying sessions in Shanghai.
Having even only been the 18th-fastest driver in qualifying for his Red Bull debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, Lawson has not started a race from the grid this season with the team changing his set-up in parc fermé. Yet their tweaks did not help as he finished 12th in China.
So, team principal Christian Horner and motorsport advisor Helmut Marko have decided that Tsunoda should replace Lawson at Red Bull from his home race at the Japanese Grand Prix on April 6. Even if Verstappen wanted Red Bull to keep Lawson and help the Kiwi to improve.
Yuki Tsunoda to make his Red Bull debut in Tokyo ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix
Red Bull rejected Tsunoda in favour of promoting Lawson from Racing Bulls to replace Sergio Perez ahead of the 2025 F1 season. Yet the 24-year-old is now expected to get a shot at the Milton Keynes outfit from round three at Suzuka, with Lawson projected to return to Faenza.
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Tsunoda will also debut for Red Bull before the Japanese GP according to The Race, with the Kanagawa native to feature at his soon-to-be new team’s long-planned show run in Tokyo on Wednesday, April 2. It will denote his first outing in an official capacity as a Red Bull F1 driver.
It will not be his first time in a Red Bull car, however, as Tsunoda took part in the post-season test following the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December. Tsunoda impressed Marko at the 2024 post-season test, as well, with the Red Bull advisor respecting his technical feedback.
Red Bull are throwing Yuki Tsunoda in at the deep end at Suzuka
Tsunoda making his Red Bull debut at the team’s show run in Tokyo could help to take some of the pressure off the 24-year-old’s shoulders before his race debut at the Japanese Grand Prix. But the Milton Keynes outfit are very much throwing him in at the deep end at Suzuka.
The show run will give Tsunoda a chance to adapt to the undoubtedly increased attention he will receive upon replacing Lawson rather than facing that attention when he rolls up for FP1 at Suzuka. Yet a show run will not give Tsunoda a chance to adapt to Red Bull’s tricky RB21.
Verstappen is helping Red Bull improve the RB21 as it has proven to be a tricky car to master through the opening rounds. But their work may be cut out as Red Bull do not know how to fix the RB21, which could leave Tsunoda facing the same challenges as Lawson has endured.
