Liam Lawson officially demoted by Red Bull

By Alex Powell

Liam Lawson has officially been demoted by Formula One giants Red Bull and will complete the season with junior side Racing Bulls.

After winning the race to partner world champion Max Verstappen at the end of 2024, the 23-year-old Kiwi lasted just two grands prix before Red Bull management decided to take him out of the firing line.

Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda will take his place at Red Bull, while Lawson goes the other way to fill the vacancy at the junior side. The switch is effective immediately and means Tsunoda will be behind the wheel of the notoriously difficult RB21 for his home race at Japan’s Suzuka circuit at the start of next month.

“It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and as a result we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

“We came into the 2025 season, with two ambitions, to retain the World Drivers’ Championship and to reclaim the World Constructors’ title and this is a purely sporting decision. We acknowledge there is a lot of work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki’s experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car.

“We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience, as he continues his F1 career with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”

Whether or not Lawson can use the rest of this year to prove himself worthy of an opportunity to return to Red Bull next season depends on how the Kiwi finishes the current campaign.

How long Tsunoda is given at Red Bull, considering the underperformance of the car and his own links to engine supplier Honda – which leaves to join Aston Martin in 2026 – remains to be seen.

The move, while not without precedent, is harsh on Red Bull’s part. In 2019, Pierre Gasly was demoted from Red Bull to then Toro Rosso following a string of poor performances after just 12 races.

In 2020, Gasly’s successor Alex Albon was dumped from Red Bull altogether to be replaced by Sergio Perez, who himself was moved on after finishing the 2024 season 285 points adrift of Verstappen.

Lawson being demoted after just two grands prix and one sprint race, though, is without question the most drastic move in the team’s history.

While the Kiwi had battled to match Verstappen on track, failing to finish in Melbourne and placing 12th in Shanghai, both of those performances came after starting in pit lane, having qualified 18th and 20th respectively.

However, there were positives for Lawson to take confidence from, given he had never raced on the Albert Park or Shanghai International circuits.

In Melbourne, Lawson logged the second-quickest lap of the race, bettered only by the eventual winner, Lando Norris of McLaren.

Meanwhile, in the Shanghai sprint race, no driver gained more positions on track than Lawson, who made four overtakes over the course of the 19 laps after starting at the back.

Swapping Lawson out before Japan does also raise question marks around the timing of Red Bull’s decision.

The Suzuka circuit is arguably the track Lawson would be the most comfortable on, given his past experience there.

In 2023, he completed four races at Suzuka, three coming in Japan’s Super Formula Championship and the last in Formula One, where he finished 11th – one place ahead of Tsunoda.

On the other side of that equation though, Tsunoda being installed as a Red Bull driver at his home Grand Prix will give the team a huge boost, commercially.

The Herald understands Honda pays Red Bull an annual eight-figure sum to have Tsunoda in the team, with speculation of a further incentive payment for this Grand Prix. Whether or not a further payment has been made to formalise this switch is yet to be confirmed.

However, Lawson returning to Racing Bulls may also be a blessing in disguise. Since his first foray into Formula One as a reserve driver in 2022, Lawson has spent considerable time with Racing Bulls, under its former moniker of AlphaTauri.

In two separate stints across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Lawson completed 11 grands prix with Red Bull’s junior side and achieved a career-best finish of ninth on three separate occasions.

The first of those, at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, also saw Lawson start as the highest-placed Red Bull car – and knock Verstappen out of qualifying.

In 2024, he achieved two more ninth placings – once in Austin after starting 19th thanks to an engine penalty and again in Brazil in torrential rain.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission