Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has spoken out about Liam Lawson amid uncertainty over the New Zealander's future with the team.
Lawson has failed to pick up points in either of his first three outings with Red Bull after replacing Sergio Perez for 2025.
He was classified in 12th place in the Chinese Grand Prix after post-race disqualifications for Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc.
Team-mate Max Verstappen, meanwhile, has already collected 36 points.
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Speaking after qualifying on Saturday in Shanghai, Lawson told Sky Sports that he needed 'time' to get used to the specific properties of the car - but accepted that he did not have it.
And shortly after Sunday's Grand Prix in Shanghai, Autosport reported that Red Bull are already considering whether to replace the New Zealander with Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda - from the next race in Japan.
Lawson beat Tsunoda to the second Red Bull seat for 2025, but the Japanese driver's strong start to the season in terms of outright pace has seemingly seen his stock rise among team chiefs.
Red Bull have confirmed that there will be an 'emergency' meeting at the team's base in Milton Keynes this week to discuss the situation.
And now, team principal Horner has given his first remarks surrounding the future of his new driver.
Speaking to Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz, he explained: "Look, Formula 1 is a pressure business, isn't it? And there's always time pressure. And he [Lawson] knows that.
"Hopefully he'll respond accordingly, and we'll see where we go.
"Liam is a great little racer. He gets his elbows out, he races hard, he's just struggling at the moment finding the limit with his car, getting the most out of the car.
"And, of course, as a team, as a group, we're looking to support him in the best way that we can.
"So he'll be in the debrief, giving all that information to the engineers very shortly."
In a separate interview with DAZN Spain, Horner added: "There's always rumours in this paddock.
"We just finished the race, so we'll have a good look at the data."
Tsunoda, meanwhile, was asked about the possibility of replacing Lawson in Japan after qualifying on Saturday - to which he gave a direct and perhaps unexpected response.
"In Japan? Yeah, 100 per cent," he replied. "I mean, the car is faster."
Topics: Red Bull Racing, Formula 1
Ryan Smart