Red Bull has reportedly made a decision on Liam Lawson’s future ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Lawson, 23, joined Red Bull ahead of the 2025 campaign but has endured a torrid start to life at the manufacturer.
In the season’s opening race, the Australian Grand Prix, the 23-year-old New Zealander crashed and did not finish.
At race two, the Chinese Grand Prix, his misery was compounded with a 16th-place finish.
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Last week, rumours began to circulate about the driver’s future with Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda mentioned as a potential replacement.
The Japanese even explained how he’d be keen to replace Lawson if the opportunity presented itself.
On Tuesday evening, Dutch outlet De Telegraaf reported that Tsunoda, 24, will ‘replace’ Lawson at the Japanese Grand Prix, becoming Max Verstappen’s Red Bull partner.
The report claims that a meeting took place in Dubai, UAE on Tuesday, where majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya lives. Red Bull has not confirmed the change at this time.
De Telegraaf also reported that Lawson has been demoted to Red Bull's sister team Racing Bulls with engine supplier Honda also thought to be involved in the decision. Another meeting is thought to have been scheduled for later this week to see how the team can close the gap on McLaren after a disappointing start to the season.
Current F1 champion Verstappen, 27, explained how the Racing Bulls car is "easier to drive" than the one used by Red Bull when speaking to journalists in Shanghai last weekend.
"That Racing Bulls car is easier to drive than ours," said Verstappen.
"I notice that when I talk to Liam. Last year the difference between him and Yuki (Tsunoda) wasn't that big, I thought. Otherwise the team wouldn't have made the choice to put Liam in at Red Bull."
Last weekend, Tsunoda was pulled away by a member of Racing Bulls PR team when asked if he'd be up for replacing Lawson.
"Yeah, why not,” said Tsunoda. “Always."
Fans were quick to give their thoughts on the reports via social media.
One said: "Red Bull are a joke, make a hasty decision, cover it up with more hasty decision making."
Another added: "Home race for Yuki in Japan at Red Bull.
"Could he have dreamed of anything better? I think not! We'll see how it ends."
While a third explained: "A shame, people should support Yuki and Liam. Hopefully both will have great success."
Topics: Liam Lawson, Formula 1
Luke Davies