Red Bull replaces Lawson with Tsunoda after two F1 races

The Red Bull organization has announced a surprising lineup change for 2025: Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson starting from the Japanese Grand Prix, while the New Zealander will return to Racing Bulls after just two race weekends.

Tsunoda has started 2025 with solid performances. In Melbourne he achieved fifth position in qualifying, while in China he scored three points by finishing sixth in the sprint race and reached ninth on the grid for the Grand Prix, though damage to his front wing relegated him to sixteenth place by the end.

In contrast, Lawson faced difficulties since his arrival at the main team. In Australia he qualified eighteenth and didn't finish the race after an accident in challenging conditions. His situation worsened in China, where he occupied last place in both qualifying sessions and finished twelfth in the race, benefiting from incidents and disqualifications of other competitors.

Reactions from both teams

Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, explained the decision: "It's been difficult seeing Liam struggle with the RB21 in the first two races and, as a result, we've collectively made the decision to make an early change. We entered the 2025 season with two goals: maintaining the drivers' championship and reclaiming the constructors' title, and this is purely a sporting decision."

Laurent Mekies, Racing Bulls team principal, expressed his satisfaction with Tsunoda's promotion: "We're incredibly proud that Yuki has earned his well-deserved step up to Oracle Red Bull Racing. His progress last year, and more recently since the start of 2025, has been absolutely exceptional. His energy and positivity has illuminated every corner of our factories and our garage."

The root of the problem

Sources close to the team indicate that this change primarily responds to the need to develop the RB21. "We recognize there's much work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki's experience will be very useful in helping improve the current car," stated Horner.

A deeper analysis suggests the difficulties might lie more with the car's characteristics than the drivers' capabilities. The second Red Bull seat presents two main challenges:

First, Verstappen's exceptional pace sets an almost impossible standard to match with identical equipment. The four-time champion even visited the team's headquarters this week to work on improvements for the RB21. Second, the current car is partially adapted to Verstappen's unique driving style, as internal sources confirm. The RB21 has an extremely sensitive front end and a less stable rear, a combination many drivers find impossible to master.

Alex Albon, former Red Bull driver, described the car as "a computer mouse with sensitivity at maximum," excessively reactive and difficult to handle for anyone with a different driving style. Since Daniel Ricciardo's departure in 2018, none of his successors - Gasly, Albon, Pérez, and now Lawson - have successfully faced the challenge of sharing a team with Verstappen.

A recurring pattern in the Red Bull structure

This situation follows a pattern similar to that observed with previous drivers. Pierre Gasly (first half of 2019) could never get close to Verstappen's performance and was replaced after just 12 races. Alexander Albon (second half of 2019-2020) showed occasional flashes but couldn't achieve the necessary consistency. Sergio Pérez (2021-2024) managed to keep the seat longer, but also experienced adaptation problems.

Horner mentioned Red Bull's commitment to Lawson's development: "We have a responsibility to protect and support Liam and, together, we believe that after this very difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so he can gain experience while continuing his F1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and team he knows very well."

For the next round in Japan, all eyes will be on Tsunoda, who will finally get the opportunity he's sought during four years in the Red Bull program. However, skepticism remains about whether the Japanese driver will manage to break the trend of difficulties faced by Verstappen's teammates, considering the particular characteristics of the Austrian car.