Just two race weekends into the F1 season, Red Bull Racing announced that Liam Lawson would be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, which confirms days of rumors.
Red Bull announced in a statement on Thursday that Tsunoda will replace the sluggish New Zealander at the beginning of his home Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.
Tsunoda, 24, joins Max Verstappen, who is four-time world champion, on the RB team. Lawson will return to his former role as RB after the 2017 campaign.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated: “It has been challenging to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races, and as a result we have collectively decided to make the decision to switch early.
We have two goals in mind for the 2025 season: to retain the World Drivers’ Championship and to reclaim the World Constructors’ title, and this is a purely sporting choice.
Lawson, 23, who was replaced by Sergio Perez at the start of the 2025 season, was drafted from RB in the winter.
He has yet to earn a point after being knocked out in the first of all three qualifying sessions.
Verstappen leads McLaren in the other Red Bull race with 36 points, eight points clear of Lando Norris, who led McLaren in the opening season.
After such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly to help Liam gain experience as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls, a place and a team he knows very well, Horner said. “We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam, and together, we see that,”
Tsunoda has shown speed both season-long race weekends.
Due to RB’s flawed two-stop pit strategy, he finished 12th in Australia and won out of the points on Sunday in Shanghai.
Tsunoda made his Formula One debut with AlphaTauri in 2021, joining Kamui Kobayashi as the first Japanese driver to compete in the same year.
Verstappen and Tsunoda are the most recent drivers to compete for Red Bull Racing. Since Daniel Ricciardo left Verstappen at the end of the 2018 season, he will be Verstappen’s fifth teammate.
Source: Aljazeera
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