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Liam Lawson

2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Liam Lawson/Red Bull/Team radio transcripts/Yuki Tsunoda

Did Tsunoda’s race justify Red Bull’s Lawson swap? · RaceFans

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Liam Lawson’s nightmare dismissal from Red Bull following just two appearances for him handed a dream debut to the man who replaced him.

An abundance of goodwill greeted Yuki Tsunoda as Red Bull finally handed him an opportunity many felt he should have had in the first place. Plus, the timing could hardly have been better: Japan’s only Formula 1 driver made his debut for the top team at his home race in a car carrying a tribute livery in honour of their engine supplier and his long-term backer, Honda.

On Sunday, Max Verstappen carried the car to a superb victory, one of his best, as he kept the clearly faster McLarens behind all day. Tsunoda came in 58 seconds behind, out of the points.

There was little to shout about this result, on the face of it. Tsunoda only finished six seconds closer to Verstappen than Lawson did on his last outing for Red Bull. Had Tsunoda really done well enough to justify Red Bull showing Lawson the door so soon?

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull, Suzuka, 2025
Tsunoda’s Q1 performance was encouraging

Taking the weekend as a whole, there is more cause to be encouraged about Tsunoda’s performance. He got off to a good start in first practice, lapping little more than a tenth of a second off Verstappen.

Although he was almost two seconds behind in Friday’s later session, this was no cause for alarm, as a series of disruptions had prevented Tsunoda from completing a representative qualifying simulation lap. However that lost time hurt him when crunch time came on Saturday.

In Q1 he matched Verstappen’s best time to within three-hundredths of a second after a similar number of runs. But while Verstappen found nearly half a second in Q2, Tsunoda was unable to improve his time, which he blamed on failing to prepare his tyres properly beforehand. He dropped out in the second round, almost half a second off Verstappen, and beaten by both drivers from his former team, including Lawson.

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This left Tsunoda at a serious disadvantage for a race in which overtaking proved far more difficult than it had been in China two weeks earlier. Although he pounced on a mistake by Lawson on the first lap, Tsunoda only gained one further place, thanks to a slow pit stop for Pierre Gasly.

Liam Lawson, Red Bull, Shanghai International Circuit, 2025
Team radio transcript: “I can’t turn the car at all”: Full radio from Lawson’s alarming Chinese GP slog to 16th

In China, Lawson started from the pit lane having made drastic set-up changes in a bid to master the tyre problems he was suffering. It was to no avail, and even when he ran in free air his lap times dropped off quickly.

In contrast, Tsunoda never had the benefit of free air during yesterday’s race. He spent the first stint stuck behind Gasly and the second in Fernando Alonso’s wheeltracks. In common with virtually every other driver on the grid, he simply couldn’t get close enough in the wake of either driver to mount an attack.

The raw numbers of Tsunoda’s first result alongside Verstappen do not make for encouraging reading. But there’s plenty of cause to believe he’s started off at a higher level than Lawson. As Tsunoda acknowledged after the race, the crucial factor this weekend will be whether he can qualify closer to Verstappen.

Tsunoda’s Japanese Grand Prix radio messages

Stint 1: Medium
Stint 2: Hard
Finish

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Stint 1: Medium

Tsunoda picked up one place immediately after the start then set about trying to attack Gasly. He had difficulty getting within DRS range, however, and asked his race engineer Richard Wood to clarify where the detection point was in the final chicane.

Lap: 2/53 TSU: 1’36.076
WoodDRS is enabled. Gasly the car ahead, 0.6. Lawson behind, 0.8.
TsunodaYeah, I don’t need the information for the car in front.
Lap: 4/53 TSU: 1’34.771
TsunodaWhere was the DRS detection point for last corner?
WoodDetection in turn 15.
TsunodaApex?
WoodApex.
Lap: 7/53 TSU: 1’34.655
WoodRecommendation, no push, turn 11. No push toggle, turn eleven.
Lap: 8/53 TSU: 1’34.818
WoodOkay, so Gasly’s dropped out of DRS from Alonso.
Lap: 9/53 TSU: 1’34.552
TsunodaYeah, a bit more rear-limited.
WoodCopy.
WoodThink about torque eight, torque eight. I’ll have a flap update for the next stint when you can.

As he prepared to switch from the medium rubber to hards at his pit stop, Tsunoda told his team he would potentially like more front wing angle, but only if he was likely to emerge in clear air. That was a luxury few drivers enjoyed at Suzuka.

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Lap: 11/53 TSU: 1’34.668
TsunodaTyres okay, but it’s hard to overtake.
WoodYeah, copy that.
Lap: 13/53 TSU: 1’34.357
TsunodaTyre is good.
WoodCopy, good info.
Lap: 15/53 TSU: 1’34.020
TsunodaAre we sticking still to the plan A? I think maybe… We’re improving lap times, so I don’t know
WoodCopy Yuki, we are looking at the options just now. Continue with plan A for now.
Lap: 17/53 TSU: 1’34.595
TsunodaTsunoda describes his preference for front wing flap change at his pit stop
If it’s by myself maybe stick to this or maybe a step more flap. If traffic, similar.
WoodCopy.
Lap: 20/53 TSU: 1’34.326
WoodOkay, could be racing Russell at pit exit. Russell pit exit now.
WoodOkay, so car behind Russell. Russell on new hard tyres.
TsunodaCopy.
Lap: 21/53 TSU: 1’34.975
WoodGap behind, 0.5.
Russell passes him on the inside at the chicane

Stint 2: Hard

Tsunoda got a late call to “box opposite” Gasly – i.e. only pit if he did not – and came in. Gasly pitted on the following lap and a slow tyre meant Tsunoda easily gained the place. Now he was stuck behind Alonso.

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Lap: 23/53 TSU: 1’36.396
WoodBattery’s good. How are the tyres?
TsunodaThe tyre is at least consistent, but the grip is low I guess.
WoodAnd box opposite Gasly. Box opposite Gasly, this lap.
Gasly stays out and Tsunoda comes in
Lap: 24/53 TSU: 1’54.579
WoodOkay, we can push. Everything you’ve got here.
Lap: 25/53 TSU: 1’33.618
WoodTsunoda arrives at the pit straight, Gasly is in the pits
Okay, press and hold here. Press and hold. Gasly pit exit and Fernando as well.
WoodCar ahead Fernando on new hard, let’s get him.
WoodBattery remains good.
Lap: 28/53 TSU: 1’33.036
TsunodaMode six?
WoodYeah, mode six.
Lap: 29/53 TSU: 1’32.955
WoodWe’ve got display 10 position eight, display 10, position eight.
TsunodaIt is already done. It’s already selected.
WoodYep, copy. Strap five. Strat five.
Lap: 31/53 TSU: 1’33.125
WoodDisplay 10, position 10 when you can. Display 1-0, position 1-0.

Red Bull suggested various settings changes for Tsunoda as he tried to attack Alonso. But he told his team the turbulence from the Aston Martin made it too difficult to get close.

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Lap: 35/53 TSU: 1’32.424
WoodYuki so we are happy with this tyre so you can push, use all the tyre.
TsunodaCopy.
WoodThat will improve performance. Engine 11, position 2. Engine 1-1, position 1. How’s the balance? Can we help you anywhere with tools?
Lap: 39/53 TSU: 1’32.598
TsunodaYeah, it’s just that the dirty air is hard.
WoodCopy.
Lap: 40/53 TSU: 1’32.319
WoodYou’re doing a great job, keep on concentrating, you were just outside DRS that time. Keep it clean.
Lap: 41/53 TSU: 1’32.522
WoodEngine 13 position six for performance, engine 1-3 position six.
Lap: 43/53 TSU: 1’32.131
WoodFor info car behind, Gasly, three seconds.
Lap: 46/53 TSU: 1’31.940
WoodGap behind 2.5.
Lap: 47/53 TSU: 1’32.381
WoodDisplay five, position six for more low speed locking at exit.
Lap: 48/53 TSU: 1’31.907
WoodThink about third toggle for turn 16.

Finish

Over the final laps Red Bull gave Tsunoda the benefit of a more powerful engine mode for periods during the final laps. But it was all for naught.

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Lap: 49/53 TSU: 1’31.929
WoodOkay, that’s five laps to go. Gap at DRS 1.1. Mode nine when you can.
Lap: 51/53 TSU: 1’31.871
WoodOkay, three laps to go. Gap at DRS 1.1. Keep it clean.
WoodOn the straight exiting Spoon
Three seconds, press and hold here. Three seconds.
Lap: 52/53 TSU: 1’32.141
WoodExit of hairpin
Okay we want one more three-second press hold out of 14, do it immediately at full throttle, immediately at full throttle.
Chequered flag
WoodOkay mate recharge on, recharge, that was a tough day today. Overtaking was very difficult. Fail 84 fail please, fail 84 fail.
TsunodaYeah, sorry guys. Yeah I think the pace was there but just the traffic, it’s quite hard to close the gap more than one sec.
WoodSorry we couldn’t get you in the points for your home race.
TsunodaNah, I just have to be better in the qualifying, that’s it.
WoodSo pick up rubber on the way in, pick up the rubber.
WoodSo finishing order, Max P1, Norris, Piastri. So a Honda on the podium for their home race.
TsunodaYeah, congrats, congrats, guys. Impressive.

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/alexander albon/Andrea Kimi Antonelli/carlos sainz jnr/charles leclerc/Driver of the Weekend/Esteban Ocon/Fernando Alonso/Gabriel Bortoleto/George Russell/Isack Hadjar/Jack Doohan/Lance Stroll/Lando Norris/Lewis Hamilton/Liam Lawson/Max Verstappen/Nico Hulkenberg/Oliver Bearman/Oscar Piastri/Pierre Gasly/Yuki Tsunoda

Vote for your 2025 Japanese Grand Prix F1 Driver of the Weekend

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Start, Suzuka, 2025


Which Formula 1 driver made the most of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend?

It’s time to give your verdict on which driver did the best with the equipment at their disposal over the last three days.

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most at Suzuka.

Driver performance summary

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Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job throughout the race weekend?

Who got the most out of their car in qualifying and the race? Who put their team mate in the shade?

Cast your vote below and explain why you chose the driver you picked in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix weekend?

  • No opinion (0%)
  • Gabriel Bortoleto (0%)
  • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
  • Carlos Sainz Jnr (0%)
  • Alexander Albon (0%)
  • Yuki Tsunoda (6%)
  • Isack Hadjar (11%)
  • Oliver Bearman (0%)
  • Esteban Ocon (0%)
  • Pierre Gasly (0%)
  • Jack Doohan (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (0%)
  • Lance Stroll (0%)
  • George Russell (0%)
  • Andrea Kimi Antonelli (17%)
  • Liam Lawson (0%)
  • Max Verstappen (67%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (0%)
  • Charles Leclerc (0%)
  • Oscar Piastri (0%)
  • Lando Norris (0%)

Total Voters: 18

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When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Isack Hadjar/Liam Lawson

Lawson and Hadjar could spring qualifying surprises: Practice data · RaceFans

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Red Bull’s latest driver swap dominated the news as the Japanese Grand Prix weekend began.

As a result, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson have new cars to get used to. While Lawson may rue losing his place at the top team, the good news for him is the Racing Bulls 02 appears to be a very tidy chassis.

Indeed, the first day of running ended with both Racing Bulls drivers ahead of their Red Bull counterparts. This needs to be qualified with the point that Tsunoda’s qualifying simulation run was compromised by one of the many red flags in second practice, while the Racing Bulls pair got largely clean laps in.

Even so, Racing Bulls’ performance bears out what we’ve seen so far this year. Tsunoda put his car fifth on the grid at Melbourne: Could Lawson or Isack Hadjar do even better on Saturday? What an outcome it would be if Lawson, fresh from his demotion from the top team, out-qualified his fellow three Red Bull-backed drivers – or even just the one who replaced him.

But Racing Bulls are potentially as much of a threat to Mercedes and Ferrari, at least over a single flying lap.

Teams’ 2024 performance in context

At this track last year F1 still seemed to be a Red Bull benefit. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez locked out the front row of the grid and romped to an unchallenged one-two.

But Suzuka has tended to be a strong circuit for McLaren in recent years. Even at this stage last year, before the Miami Grand Prix upgrade which transformed their car, they were quick over a single lap.

Teams’ progress vs 2024

On the partially-resurfaced Suzuka track, only three teams are yet to beat their best times from last year. Of them, Aston Martin probably would have done had Fernando Alonso completed the lap he was on when he spun off at Degner One.

Tsunoda’s second practice session was compromised after he made a strong start in the opening hour. So far Verstappen’s weekend appears to be following its usual pattern, in that he spent Friday attempting different set-up solutions and not appearing particularly happy with them. He’s rebounded from deeper dips than this on a Saturday, however.

Teams’ 2024 and 2025 times

McLaren will head into Saturday as overwhelming favourites for pole position, and another front row lock-out is on the cards. However as we saw in Shanghai, the MCL39 is a tricky beast at the limit, and has caught its drivers out.

One further factor could disrupt the competitive order in qualifying: the wind direction is due to reverse, turning headwinds into tailwinds and vice-versa, which will have a significant effect upon the cars’ handling at a track where aerodynamic performance is critical. With the field so close, whoever can master that added challenge stands to claim a better qualifying position at a track where overtaking is often difficult.

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/alexander albon/Formula 1/Liam Lawson/Pierre Gasly/Yuki Tsunoda

Two other drivers Red Bull dropped on Lawson’s exit · RaceFans

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Two of Liam Lawson’s rivals on the grid have first-hand experience of getting the boot from Red Bull.

Alexander Albon, who spent a year and a half at the team before being replaced, said Red Bull’s decision to drop Lawson after just two rounds was “tough on Liam.”

Lawson failed to score in either of his first two grands prix in a Red Bull. “He has had a tough few races, but it does take time,” said Albon, who spent a year as a reserve driver for the team after losing his seat at the end of 2020, then returned to race for Williams.

Albon believes more people appreciate the Red Bull has particularly unusual handling traits now compared to his difficult season alongside Max Verstappen five years ago.

Alexander Albon, Red Bull, Bahrain International Circuit, 2020
Albon was replaced by Sergio Perez – whose seat Lawson took

“Now it seems [there’s] more understanding that it’s not an easy car to drive,” he told the official F1 channel. “When I was first in it, it felt like that.”

While Lawson started just 11 races for Red Bull’s other team before his promotion at the beginning of the year, Albon had only done one more when he got his chance. However he found the handling characteristics of the cars produced by Red Bull’s two teams were extremely different.

“From my experience, it’s quite differently-balanced to the [Racing Bulls] car, more than other cars. So when the drivers change from [Racing Bulls] to Red Bull, one car’s quite front-limited and one’s quite rear-limited. So you get this bigger swing than even a Williams to a Red Bull or from a [Racing Bulls] to a Williams.”

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The Racing Bulls chassis proved competitive over the opening races. Yuki Tsunoda, who has taken Lawson’s place at Red Bull, qualified fifth for the season-opener at Melbourne. Albon believes Lawson could rebound quickly back at his former team.

Pierre Gasly, Red Bull, Hungaroring, 2019
Gasly lasted just 12 races at Red Bull

“I think there’s a huge possibility for Liam to bounce back and be immediately strong this weekend,” he said. “There’s a chance for Yuki to prove to everyone that he can also be capable in a Red Bull car.

“For Liam, he’s going back to a team that he knows, that he had great results with, a balance that I imagine he’s a bit more comfortable with in a car that he’s more used to.”

“What’s nice to see is Yuki is up for the challenge more than anything,” Albon added. “I think his attitude is the right attitude to have. I think he’s got to go into it believing he can do it.”

Like Lawson, Pierre Gasly returned to Red Bull’s second team when they dropped him in the middle of 2019 after just 12 starts. He raced alongside Tsunoda for three seasons and spoke to his former team mate after the news broke of his promotion to Red Bull.

“We spoke on the phone [about] obviously the way that I was also given this opportunity, just in terms of what didn’t quite work out and things that could have been different,” Gasly explained.

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Although Gasly believes Tsunoda is quick enough to perform well at Red Bull, he said that is no guarantee he will succeed there.

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull, Suzuka, 2025
Tsunoda has shown he’s quick enough, says Gasly

“He’s got the experience, he’s got the speed,” said Gasly. “I’ve always backed him up. I’ve raced against him and with him for two years, I’ve seen his raw speed, I’ve seen what he was capable of doing already back at the time. Back in 2021, all these years I’ve always said he is an extremely fast driver.

“So he’s got the speed, I think he’s got a strong character. Does it mean it’s going to be successful in Red Bull Racing? No. Can he be successful in Red Bull Racing? Yes. But it’s slightly more complicated than that.

“I just wish him the best. I’ve shared my thoughts and my experience from my time there. Time will tell, but I think he’s definitely a very strong driver. And in Formula 1 these days, you’ve got many strong drivers on the grid, so it’s not all down to your speed. There’s slightly more to it, but hopefully he can make the best out of this opportunity.”

Gasly said Tsunoda has clearly matured since his first season in F1 four years ago when he showed speed but also was involved in a few collisions and often sounded agitated on his radio. “He always had the raw speed,” said Gasly. “It was a little bit too hectic behind the wheel at times and on the radio.

“I think in that sense he’s matured enough in minimising the mistakes. It’s a fine line between pushing right at the limit or over-pushing slightly too much, which can be quite costly in Formula 1. I think [he’s] tuned that. Looking at the past few seasons, I think he’s been putting in very strong performances.”

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Formula 1/Liam Lawson/Max Verstappen/Red Bull

Verstappen keeps quiet but sends Red Bull a clear message over Lawson shambles · RaceFans

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Max Verstappen subtly indicated his view of Red Bull’s extraordinary decision to drop his team mate after just two grands prix when the team announced the decision a week ago.

He endorsed a social media post by fellow Dutch racer Giedo van der Garde which described the decision as being like “bullying or a panic move.”

One week later, Verstappen was unwilling to give any further indication of his views on the matter, keeping his counsel when pressed over whether Red Bull made the right call to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda so early in the season.

“I’ve discussed everything with the team, so the team knows how I think about everything,” he told the official F1 channel. “And I think that’s enough, to be honest.”

The world champion said it was “not necessary” to give his thoughts on the wisdom of Red Bull’s decisions first to promote Lawson after just 11 starts, then cut him loose after two appearances for them on tracks he hadn’t previously competed at.

“Honestly, some bits we discussed, they don’t always need to be told in public as well,” he said, “because anything that you add people start speculating about that as well and I don’t like to read about it.”

Verstappen will know how these words are likely to be interpreted: namely, that he wouldn’t keep schtum if he had anything positive to say about the situation. That ‘like’ on van der Garde’s social media post did the talking for him.

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However his new team mate said he found it hard to accept the team’s original decision to promote Lawson instead of him. “For me at least, it was brutal enough last year at the end of the season when they chose Liam over me,” said Tsunoda.

“It is what it is. I’m sure Liam also understands how quickly things can change within our structure. That’s one of the reasons we succeed, but also one of the reasons why we tend to get a little more attention with those situations.”

Tsunoda also revealed that Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, who plays an active role in hiring and firing drivers from the top team, has not spoken to him in the week since his promotion was announced.

“Surprisingly, he didn’t call me yet,” said Tsunoda. “It’s very unusual. I’m not sure – maybe he was busy with other things.

“I can’t wait to see him and see how he’s going to react to me. It’s very unusual. [In] F3, F2, F1, he’s always been calling me but this is the only time he didn’t.

“I’m sure there’s not any [problem] from his side. Even in the last few races, we’ve still had a good relationship. We didn’t have any moments between us.”

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But Red Bull’s slump in form remains Verstappen’s focus. While he has been able to extract results from the car, and heads into the third round of the season just eight points off the championship lead, his past two team mates struggled with the peculiarities of their car’s handling.

Although he suspects Red Bull’s car may be trickier to drive than others, Verstappen said it’s difficult for him to judge given his experience.

“I’ve been part of the team now for a long time, so for me, it’s always a bit more difficult to judge because I haven’t really driven any other car,” he said. “So naturally, I don’t know how much more difficult or how much easier another car is, I just drive to the limit of what I have with the car. And that’s that really.

“That it’s not the easiest [to drive], probably, yeah. I think we always discuss things we can do better on the car and that’s what we are working on currently as well.”

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Formula 1/Liam Lawson/Max Verstappen/Red Bull

Verstappen keeps a lid on his dissatisfaction over Red Bull’s Lawson shambles · RaceFans

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Max Verstappen subtly indicated his view of Red Bull’s extraordinary decision to drop his team mate after just two grands prix when the team announced the decision a week ago.

He endorsed a social media post by fellow Dutch racer Giedo van der Garde which described the decision as being like “bullying or a panic move.”

One week later, Verstappen was unwilling to give any further indication of his views on the matter, keeping his counsel when pressed over whether Red Bull made the right call to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda so early in the season.

“I’ve discussed everything with the team, so the team knows how I think about everything,” he told the official F1 channel. “And I think that’s enough, to be honest.”

The world champion said it was “not necessary” to give his thoughts on the wisdom of Red Bull’s decisions first to promote Lawson after just 11 starts, then cut him loose after two appearances for them on tracks he hadn’t previously competed at.

“Honestly, some bits we discussed, they don’t always need to be told in public as well,” he said, “because anything that you add people start speculating about that as well and I don’t like to read about it.”

Verstappen will know how these words are likely to be interpreted: namely, that he wouldn’t keep schtum if he had anything positive to say about the situation. That ‘like’ on van der Garde’s social media post did the talking for him.

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However his new team mate said he found it hard to accept the team’s original decision to promote Lawson instead of him. “For me at least, it was brutal enough last year at the end of the season when they chose Liam over me,” said Tsunoda.

“It is what it is. I’m sure Liam also understands how quickly things can change within our structure. That’s one of the reasons we succeed, but also one of the reasons why we tend to get a little more attention with those situations.”

Tsunoda also revealed that Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, who plays an active role in hiring and firing drivers from the top team, has not spoken to him in the week since his promotion was announced.

“Surprisingly, he didn’t call me yet,” said Tsunoda. “It’s very unusual. I’m not sure – maybe he was busy with other things.

“I can’t wait to see him and see how he’s going to react to me. It’s very unusual. [In] F3, F2, F1, he’s always been calling me but this is the only time he didn’t.

“I’m sure there’s not any [problem] from his side. Even in the last few races, we’ve still had a good relationship. We didn’t have any moments between us.”

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But Red Bull’s slump in form remains Verstappen’s focus. While he has been able to extract results from the car, and heads into the third round of the season just eight points off the championship lead, his past two team mates struggled with the peculiarities of their car’s handling.

Although he suspects Red Bull’s car may be trickier to drive than others, Verstappen said it’s difficult for him to judge given his experience.

“I’ve been part of the team now for a long time, so for me, it’s always a bit more difficult to judge because I haven’t really driven any other car,” he said. “So naturally, I don’t know how much more difficult or how much easier another car is, I just drive to the limit of what I have with the car. And that’s that really.

“That it’s not the easiest [to drive], probably, yeah. I think we always discuss things we can do better on the car and that’s what we are working on currently as well.”

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/carlos sainz jnr/Formula 1/Liam Lawson

‘Just the way things are in Red Bull’ · RaceFans

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Carlos Sainz Jnr said the news Red Bull had dropped Liam Lawson after just two rounds came as no surprise to him.

The former Red Bull junior team member said their decision to send Lawson back to their junior squad so early is typical of how they run their young driver programme.

“I just think it’s nothing new,” he told the official F1 channel. “It’s just the Red Bull and the way things are handled in Red Bull and the way things go in Red Bull.

“We’ve seen it in the last 10 years in Formula 1, or since I’m in F1, that’s the way things are done there. One day you get the chance, the next day if you don’t do exactly the way you’re expected to do you get the upgrade or the downgrade.”

Sainz spent almost three seasons driving for Red Bull’s second team in F1 before leaving the team. While Max Verstappen, his first team mate in F1, was promoted to Red Bull in his second season, the team never did the same for Sainz and did not take the chance to hire him as a replacement for the struggling Sergio Perez last year.

However Sainz declined to say whether Red Bull is facing a shortage of capable team mates to Verstappen now because it failed to give him an opportunity.

“Everyone says it’s the toughest job in Formula 1 being next to Max in a car that Max knows so well,” he said. “If that’s what people are [saying], I guess it’s a good thing for me, but at the same time I don’t care because I’m in the place that I want to be right now and in a good place also for my future, for myself and I cannot wait to see where we go.”

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Red Bull has a track record of making early changes to its driver line-up. Four races into 2016 they demoted Daniil Kvyat, in his second year at the team, in favour of Verstappen. Three years later Red Bull dropped Pierre Gasly after giving him just 12 races.

Gasly acknowledged he “can obviously relate” to Lawson’s situation but said it’s “very difficult to judge anything from the outside” after Red Bull replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda.

“I think only Liam can know his situation and know all the details from it and [you’ve] just got to respect that we’re all trying our best with the tools we have,” he said. “I’ve got no doubts both of them are going to do really well but it’s not really for me to comment because you never really know what’s going on.”

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Liam Lawson

Lawson determined to “prove why I belong here” after ousting from Red Bull · RaceFans

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Liam Lawson says he is determined to prove he belongs in Formula 1 after Red Bull demoted him to their second team just two rounds into his first full season.

He arrived at Suzuka for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix wearing Racing Bulls team wear after Yuki Tsunoda replaced him at Red Bull.

Lawson said the change is “something I wasn’t expecting so early” and came as a complete surprise to him following the Chinese Grand Prix last month. “I had no idea in China,” he said during today’s FIA press conference. “It was something that was decided, I guess, the Monday or Tuesday afterwards.”

“I left China, starting preparations for Japan and I had a phone call basically saying that this was what was going to happen,” he added.

He embarked on his first full season with Red Bull having started just 11 grands prix over the previous two years. Despite losing his place so quickly, Lawson is relieved to still have a drive and is eager to demonstrate what he’s capable of.

“We know how Formula 1 is and how quickly things change,” he said. “If I look back a year ago, I had no seat. I was here a year ago watching and wishing I was racing.

“Then I had the opportunity to race at the end of last year and the opportunity then to go to Red Bull Racing. So a lot has happened in 12 months.

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“So for me, the main thing is being in a car. I have the opportunity to obviously prove why I belong here and that’s what I’ll try and do and that’s what I do every single time I get in the car and that’s what I will be doing this weekend. I think things change very, very quickly: in terms of where my future is, I don’t know, and for me the only way can control that is by driving fast.”

Before the season began Lawson repeatedly said he expected the opening rounds would be difficult as he had never previously driven on tracks such as Albert Park in Melbourne or Shanghai. He expects to have an easier build-up to the weekend at Suzuka, where he previously raced for his new team in 2023.

“That was what I was obviously looking forward to from the start, to be honest,” he said, “to go to a track that I’ve been to before, just to have a proper sort of preparation. I now have that.

“So it’s exciting to be here, it’s a track I think we all like as drivers. And it’s one of my favourite tracks to drive on, so I’m very excited.”

Having returned to the team he started six rounds for last year, Lawson has adjusted quickly to the familiar surroundings.

“We’ve done simulator [work] and it’s all been okay,” he said. “Obviously you don’t truly know until you drive the car so going out tomorrow will be the first proper test.

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“For sure it’ll probably take a session or two to adjust again, but we have three practice sessions here so I’ll be making the most of that.”

This article will be updated

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2025 F1 season/2025 Japanese Grand Prix/Liam Lawson/Racing Bulls/Red Bull

Lawson says he didn’t have enough time to adjust to car after Red Bull demotion · RaceFans

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Liam Lawson says the two race weekends he had in Red Bull’s car before being demoted to their second team wasn’t enough time to get used to it.

Red Bull demoted Lawson to their second team, Racing Bulls, and have promoted Yuki Tsunoda in his place from this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

“Obviously I would have loved more time,” Lawson told Sky. His only two events at Red Bull came at venues where he had never previously raced. “I felt like [I needed] more time, especially going to places that I’d been before.”

Lawson, who made just 11 grand prix starts before moving to Red Bull, suffered some disruptions during his preparations for his first full F1 season. He covered fewer laps in testing than any driver bar Lance Stroll and was unable to participate in final practice for the Australian Grand Prix due to a power unit problem.

“It was a tough start,” he said. “We had a rocky testing, we had a rocky first weekend in Melbourne with practice and then obviously China was a sprint [weekend, with only one practice session].

“I think going to place that I’ve been before, with the way the car was quite tricky, I think that would’ve helped and I would have loved that opportunity. But obviously it’s not my decision so I’m here to make the most this one.”

He believes he could have got used to the car had he had more time in it. “The car is hard to drive, but we were going through a process of making that adjustment,” he said. “For me it’s honestly time.

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“With the way that the weekends went: In Formula 1, in a pre-season test you’re driving all day and you have loads of time to adjust and things like that. I think honestly a lack of time in the car is really the biggest thing for me.

“It made it hard to adjust, it felt like each session we were going out we were adjusting or getting used to something, it was a little bit unknown. So for me it’s not so much a driving style or something like that, it’s just literally adjusting and for me I just didn’t have the time to do that.”

This article will be updated

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