Red Bull to Swap Lawson for Tsunoda at Japanese Grand Prix

Red Bull is expected to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda after just two Formula 1 races. This change is anticipated to happen at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix next week.

Lawson will return to Racing Bulls, Red Bull`s junior team, and Tsunoda will take his place at Red Bull starting at the Suzuka race. This is a direct driver swap due to Lawson`s challenging beginning at Red Bull as Max Verstappen`s teammate.

Red Bull has not officially commented on this, and no formal announcement is expected on Wednesday.

23-year-old Lawson has had a tough start to the 2025 season. He was eliminated in the first qualifying stage in all three sessions and has struggled with race pace compared to Verstappen. He did not score any points in Australia and China.

Liam Lawson`s Red Bull Results

Tsunoda has been with Racing Bulls since 2021. He was considered for Sergio Perez`s seat for 2025 but did not get it initially.

He will become Verstappen`s fifth teammate since Daniel Ricciardo left at the end of 2018.

Max Verstappen`s Teammates at Red Bull

While Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, also young drivers from the Red Bull program, had short and unsuccessful periods as Verstappen`s teammate, Lawson`s time at the main team has been surprisingly brief.

Why the Sudden Change by Red Bull?

Analysis from a Sky Sports News reporter:

`Red Bull gives and Red Bull takes away.`

`Christian Horner said last year that Liam Lawson`s mental toughness was a key reason he was chosen over Yuki Tsunoda for the Red Bull drive. Lawson will need to use all of that mental strength now.

`This is a harsh move, but could taking him out of the spotlight be better for him in the long run? He has struggled more than expected to adapt to the car.

`People who have observed Lawson`s first two race weekends have used words like `frazzled`, `lost`, and `too much too soon`. His qualifying results, though from a small sample, are far from Red Bull`s usual performance, with 18th and two 20th places.

`However, there`s no guarantee that Yuki Tsunoda will immediately perform much better and get close to Max Verstappen in qualifying. The team`s main goal is still to provide Verstappen with a winning car, even if only he can fully utilize it, rather than adjusting the car to improve the second driver`s performance.`

Lawson In, Lawson Out – What Went Wrong So Quickly?

Lawson was promoted to the seat on December 19, as Red Bull decided to replace Sergio Perez after the experienced Mexican driver`s continued struggles, despite having signed a two-year contract earlier in the year.

Tsunoda had already completed four seasons with Racing Bulls, while Lawson had only participated in 11 Grands Prix in the previous 15 months and had been outqualified and outscored by Tsunoda during that period.

However, Red Bull reportedly gave Lawson the seat because they believed he was better suited to be Verstappen`s teammate. Despite his limited F1 experience compared to Tsunoda, Lawson had shown similar pace to Tsunoda and was thought to have more potential for improvement.

But Lawson`s difficulties with the RB21 in the first two race weekends have led to a sudden reassessment, resulting in Tsunoda finally getting his chance at the main team starting from Suzuka, his home race.

After Lawson qualified last and finished outside the points in both the Sprint and Grand Prix races in Shanghai, team principal Christian Horner said: `I think Liam still has potential, but we are not seeing it right now. His problem is that he`s had a couple of very tough weekends, and he`s facing a lot of media attention.`

`The pressure naturally increases in this sport, and I feel for him. You can see it`s very difficult for him at the moment.`

`He`s a young driver, and we have a responsibility to support him, and we will do our best to help him.`

`Liam is still a very capable driver. We know that, but for some reason, he`s not able to show it at the moment.`

Tsunoda, in contrast, has had a strong start to the season for Racing Bulls.

The 24-year-old qualified fifth and ninth in Australia and China, earning points with a sixth-place finish in the Chinese Sprint race. He likely would have scored points in both main Grands Prix as well, but team strategy issues dropped him down the rankings.

Formula 1 is heading to the Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix on April 4-6.