By Peter Johnson
Red Bull have announced earlier today that Liam Lawson will be demoted from Red Bull and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The pair had two stints as teammates at Red Bull's junior team, previously known as Alpha Tauri and then RB, before Lawson was promoted to replace Sergio Perez, whose Red Bull contract was terminated following a disappointing 2024 campaign.
Lawson had a dismal opening two race weekends in 2025, first qualifying 18th for his de facto home race in Melbourne before crashing in slippery conditions during the race. He then struggled at the Chinese Grand Prix, qualifying 20th in qualifying for both the sprint and the main race. He was only able to recover to 12th on race day, despite three cars in front of him being disqualified.
Tsunoda, meanwhile, has impressed in his Racing Bulls car so far this season, despite poor strategy calls from his team at both events leaving him short-changed in terms of points. He finished a creditable sixth in the sprint race in Shanghai and would have earned similarly notable results in both Grands Prix if not for strategic blunders by his team.
Across their 11 races as teammates in Formula One, Tsunoda triumphed 10-1 over Lawson in the Qualifying head-to-head, although on Sundays the pair were generally more evenly matched.
The Japanese driver had previously said at last year's Hungarian Grand Prix that it would be "weird" for the driver from New Zealand to be given the Red Bull drive at his expense.
Tsunoda will now endeavour to assert himself alongside World Champion Max Verstappen, who has scored at least double the number of points of his teammate in five of the last six seasons.
He will become the sixth driver to race alongside Verstappen at Red Bull after Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, Perez and Lawson.
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