Last Updated on May 10 2025, 4:33 pm
The 2025 Formula One season is heading to be a record breaking one, but not for the reasons the drivers would hope. In modern times two F1 drivers being replaced with just a quarter of the season completed is unheard of.
Red Bull raised eyebrows when in December they appointed Liam Lawson to replace Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull. Yes the Kiwi had eleven Grand Prix weekends under his belt but his Japanese team mate had racked up over eighty in four seasons with the junior Red Bull team.
There were questions over the appropriateness of the decision as early as pre-season testing where Lawson looked to be off the pace of Verstappen. However direct comparisons were muddied by the run plans Red Bull undertook, which meant an exact comparison of the two new team mates was not really possible.
Lawson and Doohan gone
Come the opening round in Australia, Lawson qualified ahead of fellow ‘rookie’ Oliver Bearman of Haas F1, yet he was behind the other first timers at the first round of the year Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar who missed out on Q3 by just 6/100th’s of a second.
Race day was to see mixed weather conditions, and Lawson crashed out early in the race making his Red Bull debut something to forget. Yet worse was to come in China where he qualified plumb last for the Spain and the Grand Prix, yet due to some decent overtaking and other retirements Liam finished the Sprint in P14. He crossed the line on Sunday a place further back but was promoted to P12 when three other drivers were disqualified after the chequered flag.
The decision was swift from Red Bull. Lawson was not ready for the big boys toys and was sent back to the Racing Bulls, while Yuki Tsunoda claimed his rightful place alongside the world champion driver.
Next up to receive his redundancy cards was Australia’s Jack Doohan. He similarly failed to perform as expected and with zero points alongside Liam Lawson was sacked after the sixth round in Miami despite qualifying there ahead of his experienced team mate Pierre Gasly.
Racing Bulls underperform
Doohan ins managed by Alpine team boss Flavio Briatore, yet the ruthlessness of the Italian meant such an allegiance did not cut the mustard with him although the writing was on the wall for the Australian before he turned a wheel in anger in 2025.
Briatore had signed over the winter, Williams reserve driver Franco Colapinto. The Argentinian had impressed since he replaced Logan Sargeant last year, scoring points in two of his first Grand Prix weekends. Yet interest from Red Bull faded away as he crashed out of three of the four last F1 weekends of the season, however his powerful financial backers found a way back with Alpine as soon as Doohan’s six race guarantee for 2025 expired.
Lawson was welcomed with open arms going back to the Racing Bulls, but his performances there too have been more than disappointing. He is yet to score a single point, whilst his rookie team mate Iasck Hadjar has five points and with slightly better luck it cold have been a number ore than that.
Despite looking racey in qualifying, the Racing Bulls have yet to being home the bacon and remain ninth in the constructors’ championship just ahead of the perpetual bottom of the pile Sauber. Now it seems that Lawson is under threat again from being dismissed form his racing team, although this time it would also mean leaving F1 completely.
Piastri reacts to Doohan sacking
Lawson facing record 2nd F1 sacking
Indycar winner and seven times F1 Grand Prix victor Juan Pablo Montoya believes Lawson is again on the brink of being cast into outer darkness. The F1 expert commentator tells AS publication: “I’ll tell you the truth. If Liam doesn’t improve any further, I wouldn’t be surprised if they put (Arvid) Lindblad in at some point. Not at all. I wouldn’t be a little surprised.”
Linblad is just seventeen, yet Red Bull haver applied to the FIA for an exemption to the F1 age restriction of 18, and been given the nod. He is in his first year of international junior formula racing and he jumped the F3 category to begin his climb to F1 in F2. He already has top ten finishes in the five rounds completed to date, the pinnacle being his win in the Sprint in Jeddah.
Montoya continues: ”Honestly, Liam has been given the green light last year and has proven that he has what it takes to do a good job. They gave him the Red Bull seat, and he won it. The Red Bull situation was complicated and I think it took a very strong blow to his liver, and he needs a lot of psychological treatment after that.
“And if he doesn’t recover soon, I’m sure Red Bull will start looking elsewhere because that’s how they work. It’s Red Bull, it’s a bit like what’s happening with Alpine right now. Whenever Franco [Colapinto] doesn’t do well, the same thing will happen.”
Oaks arrested after quitting Alpine and Audi F1 admit failure
Antonelli pressures Russell
Another surprise driver facing replacement thought that this season would be his to finally shine. With the departure of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, George Russell adopted the mantel of team leader for Mercedes yet his rookie team mate is casting a shadow over the British driver’s future as Mercedes delay in offering the man from Kings Lynn a contract beyond this season.
Antonelli os top of the table of the new drivers at new teams with a whopping 48 points this year already. He has finished P6 in 75% of his races to date and as his experience grows, so does his presence at the front of the F1 field.
Other drivers at new teams slot in behind Antonelli as follows:
Kimi Antonelli 48
Lewis Hamilton 41
Esteban Ocon 14
Carlos Sainz 7
Nico huklnberg 6
Oliver Bearman 6
Isack Hadjar 5
Gabriel Bortoleto 0
With the F1 2025 season having lost two of its starters already, the chances of other following suit are not small. Even Lewis Hamilton has been questionable in his hopes for a brighter future at Ferrari., but Maranello is that last thro of the dice for the seven times world champion.
Verstappen tests Ferrari under false name
Max Verstappen secretly tests Ferrari at the Nürburgring under an alias – One of the world’s most recognisable racing talents recently pulled off the ultimate disguise. In an unexpected move that has sparked both curiosity and admiration in the motorsport world, four-time Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen quietly took part in a test session on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife – behind the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3. But instead of running under his own name, the Dutchman used a pseudonym: Franz Hermann.
This covert outing wasn’t part of a film plot or a social media stunt. It was a calculated, well-organised appearance with a clear purpose: to obtain his Nordschleife permit, a prerequisite for competing in the gruelling Nürburgring 24 Hours. For Verstappen, it was the latest step in the pursuit of his dream of competing at the highest level of endurance racing – a pursuit he clearly takes just as seriously as his Formula 1 commitments…. READ MORE
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.
Red Bull may have asked for an exemption, but that hasn’t been handed & is unlikely to be handed because Lindblad is unlikely to meet the necessary criteria any more than Antonelli, who ultimately still had to wait until the day he turned 18 before he could obtain.
Therefore, Lindblad could start racing in F1 from the Dutch GP onwards at the very earliest.
All in all, no exemptions have been handed to date since the age limit was altered into a two-part form, with 18 being the default minimum & 17 the absolute minimum if a given driver meets the necessary criteria for below-18 granting, which is the ability to show great majority in lower single-seaters, an aspect difficult to define precisely, & therefore, neither Antonelli nor Lindblad receiving an exemption is unsurprising.
Nevertheless, Lawson definitely isn’t making himself a case for a re-promotion & at the current rate, he could indeed struggle to even keep a drive at VCARB beyond this season’s end, if not even beyond the summer break, but we’ll see.
On the other hand, Colapinto is unlikely to get sacked, partly thanks to his strong sponsor backing & marketability, so he’ll most likely become a full-time Alpine driver for the long term.
Lawson’s bad run seems to be car related and team management related rather than poor driving.