Unaired Liam Lawson radio messages in Chinese GP speak volumes with Red Bull driver set to 'be replaced'
Liam Lawson's unaired radio messages highlight his struggles as rumours swirl that Red Bull are about to replace him.
After replacing Sergio Perez, Lawson has participated in two races for Red Bull in the 2025 season but has struggled immensely and is yet to register a point.
Promoted from the Racing Bulls sister team, Lawson crashed at lap 47 in his debut at the Australian Grand Prix and then finished in 12th place at the Chinese Grand Prix following a trio of disqualifications to Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly of Alpine.
Huge doubts have been raised about Lawson's future just two races in his radio messages to Red Bull engineers in Shanghai spoke volumes about his difficulties.
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In radio messages that were not aired on Sky Sports' coverage but emerged through MultiViewer's F1 feed, Lawson made it clear how hard he was finding it to drive the Red Bull car.
At one point he said, "Mate I do not have the grip to fight this" and added that he was "using so much of the front tyre on entries" after having "absolutely no grip`".
The 23-year-old then confirmed he was "stalling so much" and then in another damning admission, claimed: "Copy, I can't turn the car at all".
Lawson, who was last in qualifying, is under serious pressure and there are strong rumours suggesting he is going to trade places with his former teammate Yuki Tsunoda starting with the Japanese Grand Prix on April 6.
Tsunoda, who finished second, already gave his thoughts on the potential swap - though he was pulled away by a PR manager afterwards.
No official decision has been made but Sky pundit Ralf Schumacher believes it is on the cards.
"Liam Lawson is already out for the next race," Schumacher said on Monday.
"Tsunoda will replace him. It’s not fully confirmed yet, but that’s how it looks.
“I have to say, it’s unbelievable. From a management perspective, I also find it incredibly bad.
“I don’t understand it at all because it destabilises the Racing Bulls team, which is finally in a good position with both drivers. Tsunoda is better, but still has no chance against Max [Verstappen].
“Lawson goes back to the Racing Bulls now. He’ll have to rebuild himself there again. This is pure chaos at Red Bull."
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed there will be 'emergency' meeting at the team's base in Milton Keynes but team principal Christian Horner defended Lawson after a difficult start to his F1 career.
He told Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz: "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."
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Topics: Formula 1, Red Bull Racing
Josh Lawless