Even by Red Bull’s record for sacking drivers mid-way through a Formula One season, the dismissal of Liam Lawson after just two race weekends was shocking. The New Zealander had failed to make it out of Q1 qualifying for both the Grand Prix and the Sprint and was visibly uncomfortable in the car during the races.
The Milton Keynes based team had paid out more than $10m dollars to exit Sergio Perez early from his contract in the hope that Lawson would fair better than the Mexican did in 2024. Yet Checo after two races last season had collected 36 points and was second to his team mate in the drivers’ title race who had racked two wins and a fastest lap to lead the field with 51 points.
This season’s RB21 does not have the advantage of its predecessor with Max posting just 36 points this season, despite there having been an additional Sprint when compared to last year’s opening two rounds which did not. Lawson’s zero points leaves him alongside the likes of Jack Doohan, Racing Bull’s rookie Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto and the unlucky Pierre Gasly who was disqualified in China for his Alpine being under weight.
Red Bull failed Lawson as Mercedes show the way
Mercedes’ rookie Kimi Antonelli by contrast now has 22 points and sits fifth in the F1 driver standings, ahead of the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. The Brackley based F1 team went to extraordinary lengths to prepare their replacement for Lewis Hamilton last year, with countless days of testing in a previous year’s car, estimated to be in the region of 10,000km.
By comparison, Lawson didn’t even get a drive in a Red Bull car at the post season test in Abu Dhabi, with Marko and Horner preferring to give Yuki Tsunoda that opportunity. With Mercedes now setting the bar in terms of their junior driver programme, Red bull appear to have missed a trick.
Instead of replacing the luckless Daniel Ricciardo with six race weekends to go, it seems the transition for their Checo replacement would have been better managed by retaining the Aussie and preparing Lawson with weeks of testing in a previous Red Bull car as the regulations permit. Now Red Bull are suffering the ignominy of having to admit they got it wrong replacing Lawson with Tsunoda as the Japanese driver will stop up as Max’s team mate at his home Grand Prix in Suzuka next time out.
The belief is the evidence from Tsunoda’s post season test in Abu Dhabi driving the RB20, was way more seamless than the transition Lawson has been trying to make. “You can physically feel why the RB20 has been fighting for a championship this year, it feels like a very different car to drive,” said the Japanese driver.
Honda now key in scrapping hated F1 2026 engines
Tsunoda already at home with Red Bull
“I feel like the car suits my driving style and I haven’t struggled much at all to adapt,” added Yuki. “Even on the long runs I have been able to run consistently today and was able to feel the limitations of the car which, if you don’t have confidence in the car, you are unable to test.”
This is chalk and cheese when comparing Lawson’s struggles in Australia and China but the team is promoting Tsunoda for the race in Japan with an ulterior motive. Honda who sponsor the Japanese driver had offered Red Bull in excess of $10m to replace check with their driver and it appears a similar sum of money was on the table to promote Tsunoda before theJapanese Grand Prix.
Ex-F1 driver, brother of Michael Schumacher and now German F1 commentator, Ralf Schumacher believes that Tsunoda should have elected to remain with the Racing Bulls rather than move to Milton Keynes. As Max Verstappen admitted in China, the Racing Bull is a lot easier car to drive than the RB21.
The problem revealed by Lawson is the operating window for the optimum performance of Red Bull’s 2025 F1 challenger is so tiny, that despite a day and a half. Of testing in Bahrain and around ten house on track in Melbourne and Shanghai, he has yet to find the minuscule sweet sport of his Red Bull.
Schumacher tells Yuki to stay put
Schumacher tells F1-insider: “If I were Tsunoda’s manager I wouldn’t recommend him going to Red Bull. The Racing Bulls car is currently better and Tsunoda is handling it very well. He’s not doing himself any favours by moving to Red Bull.” Red Bull reportedly designed the RB21 on Max Verstappen’s feedback alone given that Sergio Perez was all at sea over the second half of the 2024 championship.
Yuki will face the same challenges with the RB21 that Liam Lawson has endured, yet Red Bull are hoping the Japanese drivers’ test in the RB20 along with four years of F1 racing experience will see him better placed to find the sweet spot that Lawson couldn’t.
Schumacher’s comment that Tsunoda would be better off remaining where he is rather than taking on Max Verstappen is somewhat ludicrous. With Honda coughing up some $10m for the privilege Yuki doesn’t have a choice. He was in effect forced into taking the Red Bull drive.
Of course Honda part company with Red Bull at the end of this season to partner with Aston Martin going forward, and should Tsunoda fair well in the RB21 it could create some pressure for the management at Aston Martin on considering recruiting the Japanese driver.
Failing to nab Sainz, looking a mistake
Following the decision not to promote Tsunoda to replace Perez directly, Honda appeared to distance themselves from Tsunoda and his future F1 racing opportunities. It was believed he would leave the Racing Bulls at the end of this year and be searching elsewhere on the grid for a 2026 F1 drive.
So the Red Bull move for Yuki is something of a lifeline. He can’t fair any worse than Lawson and in all probability will be a qualified success. Whether this is enough to solve Red Bull’s long term conundrum over who to partner with Max Verstappen, only time will tell. Failing to sign the contract free Carlos Sainz to the team last year, is now looking a poor decision by the Red bull management.
But the move to Red Bull now puts Tsunoda in the shop window with the rest of the F1 field, for good or for bad. A Japanese driver in a car capable of winning in Suzuki, is a mouthwatering watering prospect for the fans at the track, as the final tickets sold out in minutes once the news had broken of Yuki’s promotion.
Hamilton knew of ride height issues before Chinese GP
FIA reveals F1 teams in violation of flexing regulations
The Chinese Grand Prix proved to be a watershed moment in this season’s Formula one championship. The McLaren 1-2 on Sunday confirmed the Woking based squad are strong favourites to win the constructors’ title race and Ferrari have once again become shambolic.
A double disqualification for both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc from the Grand Prix demonstrated the weakness in the Scuderia’s risk assessment processes. Leclerc’s car was underweight come the chequered flag due to poor analysis of tyre wear, according to Ferrari and Hamilton’s ride height was too low despite the team raising it after the Sprint.
Liam Lawson confirmed the Red Bull car is a pig to drive, with only Max Verstappen currently able to extract some kind of front running performance from the RB21. Yet behind the drama, the FIA had introduced a radical overhaul of its flexi bodywork tests, slashing the tolerance for movement the rear wing by 75% before handing back 0.25mm additional allowance just for the weekend in Shanghai…. READ MORE
The Judge, a nom de plume of an experienced F1 journalist and site founder with long-standing sources across the paddock. With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
