Red Bull set to replace Lawson with Tsunoda

Red Bull are set to drop Liam Lawson after just two races and replace him for the next grand prix in Japan with Yuki Tsunoda.

The decision was reached by Red Bull bosses, including team principal Christian Horner, at a meeting in Dubai on Monday, insiders have told BBC Sport.

It is expected to be formally confirmed later this week by Red Bull, who refused to comment.

The move, first confirmed by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, comes after a dire start to Lawson's Red Bull career.

The New Zealander qualified 18th 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 14th and 12th.

His average qualifying deficit to team-mate Max Verstappen has been 0.88 seconds. Verstappen finished second in Australia, third in the sprint in Shanghai and fourth in the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lawson will return to Red Bull's second team, Racing Bulls, alongside French rookie Isack Hadjar.

Japanese driver 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."

Lawson was promoted to Red Bull this season following the team's decision to pay off Sergio Perez, despite the Mexican having two years remaining on his contract.

That decision 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.

As Perez's slump in 2024 had mirrored a similar pattern of performance in 2023, Red Bull decided the time had come to get rid of him.

They had the choice between Lawson and Tsunoda as a replacement and chose the New Zealander, despite the fact he had completed just 11 grands prix split over two seasons - whereas Tsunoda has raced for the company since 2021.

Lawson took part in six races in 2023 as a substitute for Daniel Ricciardo when the Australian broke his hand in a crash, scoring points with a ninth-place finish in Singapore.

And last year he did 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 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.

Red Bull chose Lawson on the basis that they believed the Japanese lacked the mental toughness to survive at Red Bull alongside Verstappen, and Lawson had more potential to improve.

They had been planning to 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.

Verstappen is said by insiders to believe the decision is an error, on the basis that the problem is Red Bull's car - not the second driver.

Verstappen has said the 2025 Red Bull is the fourth quickest car - behind rival top teams McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari.

The car continues to have balance problems which hampered the team last year and meant Verstappen won only two of the final 14 races of last year, as the Dutchman fended off a late assault from McLaren's Lando Norris to win his fourth world title.