Red Bull set to swap Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda ahead of Suzuka
Liam Lawson looks set to be dropped in a seat swap with Yuki Tsunoda from next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. Reports from BBC News, Sky Sports and Motorsport.com say the decision was made in Dubia by Red Bull bosses on Monday and is set to be formally confirmed in the coming days.
Lawson was chosen to replace the experienced Sergio Perez who the team paid off not to race this season after just eleven races across 2023-24. But the New Zealander has had a dismal start to 2025, being knocked out at the first stage of all three qualifying sessions (including one in the Sprint format) and also exhibiting a lack of race pace, highlighted by the relative success of his team-mate Max Verstappen.
The decision to replace Perez was made after a difficult 2024 for Perez, who failed to finish on the podium after the fifth race of the season. Perez’s performances contributed to the team finishing third in the constructors’ championship last year, behind McLaren and Ferrari.
Red Bull has long been renowned for the ruthlessness with which they handle their young driver programme. But even in this context the move, if confirmed, has caused disbelief that at this early stage of the season.
The move, first confirmed by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, comes after a dire start to Lawson’s Red Bull career. The New Zealander qualified eighteenth at the opening race of the season in Australia, before crashing out of the race in the rain. In China last weekend, he qualified last for both the sprint and the grand prix, and finished the two races fourteenth and twelfth.
The average deficit in the first three qualifying to teammate Max Verstappen has been just under nine-tenths. Verstappen finished second in Australia, third in the sprint in Shanghai and fourth in the Chinese Grand Prix.
When asked about it in his own press briefing a couple of hours after Sunday’s race in China, Red Bull team principal Horner notably opted not to dismiss the report as false. Horner said: “There’s always going to be speculation in the paddock. As I say, we’ve only just finished the race here. We’ll take away the info and have a good look at it.”
Asked about Tsunoda’s start to the season, Horner said: “Yuki is an experienced driver now doing a great job. He was unlucky, from what I can see from the race plots, with strategy and a front-wing issue today. But again, last weekend he was doing a good job.”
Asked about Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko’s claims that a meeting had been scheduled for next week to discuss the situation, Horner said “nothing specific” had been set up.
Tsunoda was asked at the Chinese Grand Prix whether he would accept the promotion to Red Bull if it was offered. He said: “Yeah, why not? Always. In Japan? Yeah, 100%. I mean, the car is faster.”
When the scenario was put to Lawson, he responded: “I’ve raced him for years, raced him in junior categories and beat him – and I did in F1 as well, so he can say whatever he wants.”
But it raises serious questions about Red Bull’s management, this if confirmed would be the third driver swap across both Red Bull and Racing Bulls in eighteen months.
Horner decided to give a new two-year contract to Sergio Perez last May even though the Mexican was starting to struggle in the second Red Bull – just as he had through the second half of 2023. He did that despite Carlos Sainz, who had matched Verstappen in their rookie season in 2015, being available following Ferrari’s signing of Lewis Hamilton for 2025.
After Perez’s performances slumped through the remainder of 2024, the decision was made to terminate his contract. That resulted in a pay-off of many millions of dollars. Instead of picking Tsunoda who is now in his fifth season, they went for Lawson who had less experience than Verstappen when he was promoted to Red Bull in 2016.
It raises serious questions about how the decision-making by Red Bull, and whether Lawson is being scapegoated for the team’s denial about the size of the problem they have with their car. Red Bull could also lack understanding of what is needed to be Verstappen’s teammate as well as what they are expecting from a car which looks to be third or fourth in the pecking order.
Last year he competed in five races after Ricciardo was dropped following the Singapore Grand Prix, taking points for ninth-place finishes in the US and Sao Paulo Grands Prix. Tsunoda out-qualified Lawson by a ratio of four times to two in 2023 and seven times to two in 2024. In races, Tsunoda has been ahead six times against four when both have finished.
There had been reports and speculation that it could wait until at least the Japanese Grand Prix before making a call because it is the first track on this year’s calendar at which Lawson has previous experience. But in the end, Lawson’s poor performances have led to his downfall after just two races.
BBC News says its sources close to Verstappen believe if this decision is made it’s an error because the problem is the car, not the driver. The issues they had with the balance in the second half of last season have continued into this season.