Red Bull is considering making an immediate change to its driver line-up following the struggles experienced by Liam Lawson in the opening two races of the season.
Lawson replaced Sergio Perez over the winter after the Mexican scored just nine points in the final eight races of 2024. That came against the backdrop of Max Verstappen wrapping up a fourth drivers’ championship and scoring 134 points across that same eight-race period, and it was the New Zealander that Red Bull turned to after being impressed with his approach at Racing Bulls over the final six rounds.
Although the Red Bull has not been a race-winning car in the opening two races, Verstappen has still managed to pick up 36 points while Lawson crashed out in Australia and was classified 12th after disqualifications in China – the latter a weekend where he was classified last in both Sprint and grand prix qualifying.
Melbourne and Shanghai marked the first time Lawson has driven on either of the two circuits, but he admits he doesn’t believe he will be given time to try and get used to the 2025 Red Bull.
“To be honest, we were even more competitive in [Saturday’s] Sprint — we were able to overtake cars and move forward,” Lawson said. “It’s just we tried something with setup to learn something [on Sunday], it was quite a big step, and unfortunately, it just didn’t work.
“So, a lot to learn from this weekend. A lot for me, personally, to get on top of as well. It’s just been extremely tough.
“I’d love to say I just need more time driving the car, but obviously we don’t really have that. So, fortunately, we go to a track that I know, and it’s a track that I like, but I’ll be spending this week very heavily going into absolutely everything to try and obviously do a better job.”
Lawson finished the Chinese Grand Prix over a minute behind Verstappen, who finished fourth, representing a pace deficit of more than a second per lap over the 56-lap race. Although he has raced at Suzuka in both Formula 1 and Super Formula, RACER understands Red Bull will now discuss whether to address the situation before the next race in Japan. Should there be a change made, the most likely outcome is expected to be a promotion for Yuki Tsunoda, with Lawson returning to Racing Bulls.
While Lawson’s future is being considered, a driver swap is not a certainty. Red Bull faced a similar situation last summer when it appeared poised to drop Perez mid-season but surprised many by opting to stick with an unchanged line-up after the summer break.
Amid the growing reports about Red Bull’s current situation, team principal Christian Horner refused to commit to Lawson for the next round in Suzuka, when pushed on the topic following Sunday’s race in Shanghai.
“Look, I think everything is purely speculative at the moment,” Horner is quoted as saying by ESPN when asked if Lawson would still be driving for the team in Japan. “We’ve just finished this race. We’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it.
“I think Liam still has potential – we’re just not realizing that at the moment. I think the problem for him is, you know, he’s had a couple of really tough weekends. He’s got all the media on his back.
“The pressure just naturally grows in this business, and I feel very sorry for him that he’s … you can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.”
Horner also told Sky Sports that Red Bull was thinking of Verstappen’s chances in the drivers’ championship when considering the future of its second car.
“There’s performance that we need to find and we need both drivers up there if there’s to be any chance of fighting for the constructors’ championship. For the drivers’ championship as well, you need to have a second car in play, you can’t just do it one legged.
“Formula 1 is a pressure business, there’s always time pressure, and Liam knows that. Hopefully he’ll respond accordingly and we’ll see where we go.”
