Red Bull linked with stunning move for new driver that would throw Liam Lawson out of F1 completely

Red Bull are considering dropping Liam Lawson completely if they replace him with Yuki Tsunoda following a shocking report.

Lawson has endured a nightmare start to his life at Red Bull following his promotion from Racing Bulls for the 2025 season.

The 22-year-old has been knocked out of qualifying in Q1 in every session so far, including back-to-back last place finishes in China for the sprint and grand prix

Both Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Max Verstappen have been defensive of Lawson, claiming this year's car is extremely 'difficult to drive' compared to the Racing Bulls.

Verstappen himself would be reportedly frustrated by a potential driver swap, due to the belief the car is the problem rather than the driver.

However, Horner refused to rule out a driver switch before the Japanese Grand Prix following Lawson's performance in China.

“There’s always going to be speculation in the paddock,” Horner said, when asked whether Red Bull could make a change for Japan.

“As I say, we’ve only just finished the race here, we’ll take away the info and have a good look at it."

Lawson to 'miss out' on RB return if Tsunoda joins Red Bull

Motorsport.com have also reported that Red Bull are considering promoting Tsunoda for the Japanese Grand Prix, however, they claim that Lawson could sensationally miss out on the vacant Racing Bulls seat with the team looking to sign Franco Colapinto from Alpine.

The report also reveals that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was seen at Alpine's hospitality on race day in China, with sources claiming a deal is close.

Franco Colapinto at the Chinese Grand Prix for Alpine- Getty

However, Colapinto only put pen to paper on a long-term deal at Alpine in January, and is highly tipped to replace Jack Doohan at the team at some point this season making a deal seem rather far fetched.

Sources at ESPN have also maintained the stance that Colapinto will replace Doohan for the European leg of the season, contradicting reports linking him to the Red Bull family.

Colapinto was one of the surprises of the season in 2024, when he replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams from the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, with many expecting him to feature on the grid for 2025.

If Colapinto was signed to race alongside Isack Hadjar at RB, it would put Lawson out of F1 completely, which would seem incredibly harsh given his impressive performances in the sport up to this point.

Lawson will hope he is given at least one more race with the team due to being very familiar with the Suzuka circuit from his time racing in Superformula in Japan.

For context, the Red Bull man had never raced at either of the opening two tracks of the season.