Media day ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix was largely dominated by Red Bull’s shock driver swap of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, which was announced a week ago. 

Red Bull confirmed four days after the Chinese Grand Prix that Lawson and Tsunoda would swap seats from Suzuka, with the team needing the latter’s experience to improve the RB21. 

It marked the fastest driver change in Red Bull’s history and was a major talking point ahead of the third round of the 2025 F1 season. 

Unsurprisingly, the majority of the drivers were asked for their views on the change, in particular Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. 

Verstappen, who Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has claimed is unhappy over the decision, insisted that Tsunoda must figure things out on his own.

“I’ve only seen Yuki yesterday quickly, he’s been busy at the factory,” Verstappen told select media including RacingNews365. “At the end of the day, it’s not really up to me.

“He has to find it out for himself because my experience might not be his experience.”

As for Hadjar, who had been Tsunoda’s team-mate for two rounds and now finds Lawson alongside him, recognised the importance of performing as a Red Bull family driver.

“I mean, in the Red Bull family, it’s all about performance, the guy who’s performing at the moment has the higher chance to get the Red Bull seat next to Max,” Hadjar explained.

“I think it’s so clear and so obvious. And then once you don’t perform anymore or [are] struggling, then it becomes more difficult.”

What did non-Red Bull family drivers say?

As for non-Red Bull family drivers, many opted not to comment in too much detail on the topic; however, Lewis Hamilton jumped to the defence of Lawson.

“I’m not surprised to see them [Red Bull make an early change],” Hamilton said. “Both great drivers. I think we’ve got a lot of really great drivers here, and particularly young, talented drivers. 

“I think there’s naturally a lot of pressure on youngsters coming in, and I think there’s no way you can get fully on top of a car which is known to be not the easiest car to necessarily drive. 

“Just to give him two races was pretty harsh.”

Oscar Piastri spoke in similar fashion to Hamilton, and insisted that the Racing Bulls driver’s results in Australia and China were not reflective of his talent.

“It’s not really my place to comment,” said Piastri. “I think, what we’ve seen from Liam in the first two races is not a reflection of his talent. 

“I’ve raced Liam for a number of years, and I think he’s an incredibly competitive driver. I don’t think that the results he showed in the first two rounds are indicative of what he is capable of.”

Notably, Carlos Sainz, a former Red Bull family driver, spoke in great detail about Lawson’s demotion and the unfair nature of it. 

Like Lawson, Sainz has not started the season well, but the Spaniard acknowledges that the outfit led by Christian Horner is run very differently.

“I guess it’s the hard life of Formula 1,” said Sainz. “I think it’s nothing new or nothing that we haven’t seen before. 

“Unfortunately, in this sport, it only counts the last two or three races that you do at the same time. You can do one good race, and then everything changes, and the perception of everyone completely changes. And can be the same for me. 

“I have a good weekend here, and no one remembers the first two races and the way they’ve gone. 

“So it’s just a hard sport, probably at Red Bull it’s even harder, even tougher, because of the the way that programme is being run, and the whole way it works, but nothing new. When you are there you know that’s, that’s what’s waiting for you.”

A driver who can relate to Lawson is Sainz’s team-mate, Alex Albon, who was demoted at the end of the 2020 season and replaced by Sergio Perez. 

Albon has experienced the ruthlessness of Red Bull, but is confident Lawson can bounce back.

“He’s got a really good opportunity now to get back into a car that he’s comfortable with, and he has a really great story to tell,” Albon said. 

“I see it more as an opportunity. How amazing would it be to come to this weekend, deliver a great result, and put himself back on the map.”