It’s official! Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson at Red Bull Racing from the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.
After the Chinese Grand Prix, there have been several reports stating that Tsunoda will replace Lawson at Red Bull from the next race. Now that the team has officially confirmed this. The team principal, Christian Horner, gave a justification as to why this decision was made after just 2 races.
Christian Horner’s statement after Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull seat swap
After the official announcement, Red Bull released a statement from Christian Horner where he mentioned why this decision was made.
“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. 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.”
Horner has made it clear that this was a sporting decision. The fact is that Lawson does not have enough experience in F1 to provide the right feedback to the team to improve the car. Tsunoda, on the other hand, has 4 years on his belt and has been performing really well for the last couple of years.
Announcing that @yukitsunoda07 will partner Max from the #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/Pz05P7cFKF
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 27, 2025
But there is still one more problem for Red Bull – the car. It is no secret that the RB21 is not the best car on the grid. This was one more reason why Red Bull wanted Tsunoda to drive for the Austrian team.
“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 welcome him to the Team and are looking forward to seeing him behind the wheel of the RB21.”
Given that Red Bull will now need to rebuild the RB21 due to its poor performance. For this purpose, the team thinks Tsunoda is the right person as he has more experience and can give more valuable feedback from the RB21.
What now for Liam Lawson?
With Tsunoda taking the seat at Red Bull, Horner confirmed that Lawson will be continuing with VCARB for the remainder of the season. Here’s what the Red Bull team principal said:
“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.”
We can confirm that @LiamLawson30 will drive for the Team from the #JapaneseGP 👊#F1 #VCARB
— Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team (@visacashapprb) March 27, 2025
The Austrian squad basically wants Lawson to gain some more experience in F1 by driving the VCARB, as that car is much easier to drive than the RB21. This will allow him to grow more in the sport, after which Red Bull will potentially bring Lawson back to Red Bull. But that’s for another day.
This swap will be for the remainder of the season and not just for the Japanese Grand Prix. One of the most important things for the Milton Keynes-based team will be to develop the RB21 and next year’s challenger, which will be completely different because of the new regulations.
