“Red Bull Weighing Up Shock Driver Swap for Japanese Grand Prix After Lawson’s Struggles”….read more
Red Bull Formula 1 is reportedly considering a driver swap for the Japanese Grand Prix due to the underwhelming performances of Liam Lawson. The 23-year-old Kiwi driver was promoted to race alongside Max Verstappen in the main Red Bull team for the 2025 season after Christian Horner and Helmut Marko chose to drop Sergio Perez. However, Lawson has struggled to adapt to his new role, which is widely regarded as one of the most challenging in motorsport—being Verstappen’s teammate.
Despite the season being only two races old, Lawson has faced difficulties in handling his car across various sessions. He has had multiple exits from Q1 and was forced to retire from the Australian Grand Prix due to technical issues. His struggles have been compounded by the fact that Yuki Tsunoda, the driver Lawson beat for the promotion, seems to be flourishing at the junior team, Racing Bulls. Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, has praised Tsunoda’s improved performance and maturity this season, which makes the situation more complicated for Lawson.
In the Chinese Grand Prix, Tsunoda faced a bizarre incident when his front wing sustained damage without any contact with another car or object. Despite this, Lawson finished ahead of his former teammate in the race, marking Lawson’s first result of the season over Tsunoda. However, Lawson’s overall performance has remained poor, consistently finishing at the back of the pack, including last-place finishes in both sprint qualifying and grand prix qualifying in Shanghai.
With Lawson’s underperformance and Tsunoda’s apparent improvement, there are reports suggesting that Red Bull is considering a driver swap ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Tsunoda could be promoted to the main team, while Lawson might be demoted back to Racing Bulls. According to sources in the paddock, discussions regarding this swap are already underway, although no final decision has been made yet. The possibility of such a change is being considered seriously, and a meeting is expected next week to decide whether Lawson will be given more time to improve or if he should be replaced by Tsunoda immediately.
Ralf Schumacher further fueled the speculation, suggesting on Sky Sports in Germany that some figures within Red Bull would be in favor of making the switch if they could. However, Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, clarified that no decision had been made yet. He stated that the team would continue to evaluate Lawson’s performance and data ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix before making any final calls regarding the lineup.
