Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, has made his feelings clear after his son’s now-former teammate Liam Lawson was demoted to Racing Bulls and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda.
Lawson, 23, replaced Sergio Perez at Red Bull ahead of the 2025 F1 season but endured a torrid start at the manufacturer when he crashed out of the campaign’s opening race in Melbourne, Australia before finishing 12th at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai last Sunday.
As a result, his future was under scrutiny with then-Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda the favourite to replace him, which proved to be the case as Red Bull released a statement on Thursday confirming the switch.
"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," team principal and CEO Christian Horner explained.
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"We came into the 2025 season, with two ambitions, to retain the World Drivers' Championship and to reclaim the World Constructors' title and this is a purely sporting decision.
“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 with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”
Later in the evening, Lawson himself released a statement of his own explaining how he had realised his “dream” of racing for Red Bull before adding how he was “excited” to join Racing Bulls.
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Current F1 champion Verstappen, 27, will have to get used to a new teammate and his father Jos – a former F1 driver – has also had his say on the decision to demote Lawson.
Racing Bulls posted a statement confirming Lawson’s move, with Jos making a comment underneath, which read: “I really hope you go do a fantastic job. He deserves to be in F1.”
The F1 season will resume on April 6 at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan with Lawson, no doubt, hoping to improve his record.
Topics: Formula 1, Liam Lawson, Max Verstappen
Luke Davies