F1 star was axed by team on his birthday as most brutal sackings revealed

On the back of the Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan sagas in the 2025 season, we have looked into some of the most brutal sackings in Formula 1 history.

After just two races, Red Bull decided to remove Lawson as Max Verstappen's teammate and replace him with Yuki Tsunoda.

New Zealander Lawson has since returned to Red Bull's sister team, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.

After last weekend's Miami Grand Prix, another driver was dropped, this time in the shape of Doohan, who has been replaced by Franco Colapinto at Alpine.

Unlike Lawson, Doohan will not race in F1 in the near future as he takes up the role of Alpine's reserve driver.

As a result of the above-mentioned situations, we have picked out some brutal sackings that will forever be etched in F1 history.

Sebastien Bourdais - Red Bull/Toro Rosso

Red Bull are known for their no-nonsense and brutal approach, and that was in full flow during the 2008 season.

After struggling at sister team Toro Rosso, Bourdais was replaced by Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari.

Speaking about his sacking, Bourdais revealed he was told the news via text messages from then-team boss Franz Tost.

He said: "The way they got rid of me was very disappointing. He did not speak with me. He did not call me. Everything was done by SMS, which to me has no style."

However, Tost denied the claims, he said: "I told Monsieur Bourdais personally that he is not going drive anymore and did not write any SMS."

Kevin Magnussen - McLaren

Magnussen faced the axe after finishing in 11th place in the 2014 campaign.

The Dane was replaced by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and was actually told the news on his birthday.

As reported by The Sun, McLaren boss Ron Dennis got his PA to break the news.

Magnussen said: "It was a short paragraph explaining that there would be nothing for me in the future. It arrived on my birthday, actually."

Kevin Magnussen was brutally axed on his birthday. Image: Getty

Nelson Piquet Jr - Renault

This was one of the most controversial incidents in F1 history.

Renault decided to part ways with Piquet after he failed to score a single point in the first half of the 2009 season.

The Brazilian hit back at team boss Flavio Briatore and other members of the management, claiming he was ordered to crash during the Singapore Grand Prix in a bid to help Alonso win the race.

After a series of investigations and legal proceedings, it was revealed that Piquet was telling the truth.

Renault ended up being handed a two-year ban by the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

Jolyon Palmer - Renault

In 2017, British driver Palmer was replaced by Spaniard Carlos Sainz at Renault.

However, no one appeared to have informed the Englishman, with Palmer himself admitting that he only realised he was dropped when he saw the news on Autosport.

He said: "I knew when I read it on Autosport. And then I knew it was true as well, I spoke to some people. That was it."