50743ebe1c2dbb3861366a9f1190ab63cf13224b

Red Bull confirms Tsunoda in for Lawson

09:48, 27 Mar

byEwan Gale

Red Bull Racing has officially announced that Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The confirmation from the Milton Keynes-based outfit comes after Racing Bulls announced Lawson would drive for the team for the rest of the season.

With a meeting set for after the Chinese Grand Prix, GPBlog revealed that the decision had been made to enact the switch but Red Bull and Racing Bulls has now put any doubts to bed with their official releases.

The statement from the team read that "Red Bull are in the unique position of having four seats on the Formula 1 grid, across Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls and as such, the team have made the decision to exercise a driver rotation that will see Yuki partner current and four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

Horner reacts: Difficult to see Lawson struggle

Team principal Christian Horner said: "It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and as a result, we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch.

"We came into the 2025 season with two ambitions, to retain the world drivers' championship and reclaim the world constructors' title and this is purely a sporting decision.

"We acknowledge there is a lot of work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki's experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car. We welcome him to the team and are looking forward to seeing him behind the wheel of the RB21.

"We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience as he continues his F1 career at Racing Bulls, an environment and team he knows very well."

Lawson's short time with Red Bull was troubled from the start as he was left with a lack of running time by a mechanical issue during one of his allocated sessions during the Bahrain pre-season test.

Another issue on his car left his practice running at the Australian Grand Prix curtailed before a crash in treacherous conditions - a fate that befell almost all the rookies on the grid, as well as two-time champion Fernando Alonso and F1 race winner Carlos Sainz - left him out of the race.

But the Chinese Grand Prix was a disaster for Lawson as he qualified last for the sprint race, failing to make any substantial headway in the 19-lap event. His qualifying form was replicated for the grand prix, finishing behind Isack Hadjar's Racing Bulls car and only ahead of Tsunoda by virtue of a front wing failure for the Japanese.

For Tsunoda, he now gets the opportunity to race in front of his home crowd in a car capable of reaching the podium - at least at the hands of Verstappen - with it understood that Honda has provided substantial backing to facilitate the switch.