Before the 2025 Formula 1 season even began, speculation arose about Red Bull potentially parting ways with Liam Lawson due to his underwhelming preseason testing. His poor performances in the first two Grand Prix weekends have only fueled these rumors.
Lawson struggled to progress beyond Q1 and crashed during the Australian Grand Prix. His qualifying efforts at Shanghai were even worse, as he ended up at the very back of the grid for both the sprint race and the main event.
While rumors are often unreliable, when Red Bull is involved in discussions about mid-season driver changes, they tend to carry more weight. The team has a history of making abrupt replacements based on performance issues.
Many fans were disappointed when Red Bull chose Lawson over the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda to replace Sergio Perez. Tsunoda had been competing for the Racing Bulls team since 2021 and had significant experience racing alongside Lawson in previous seasons.
Tsunoda has made it clear that he is fully prepared to step in if needed, making him the most logical choice to replace Lawson.
Isack Hadjar, Tsunoda’s rookie teammate, has demonstrated impressive pace in his debut races, even outqualifying Tsunoda in China and finishing ahead of fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes.
Rumors suggest that Red Bull could make the switch by the Japanese Grand Prix, which would be ideal since it is both Tsunoda’s and Honda’s home race. However, team advisor Helmut Marko appears to be looking beyond just the next few weeks.
This would be an interesting move, considering Red Bull is already dealing with Lawson’s lack of experience, and Hadjar is equally inexperienced. Additionally, while Lawson previously performed well with Red Bull’s junior team, those results have not carried over.
Red Bull made a comparable decision in 2019 when they replaced a struggling Pierre Gasly with rookie Alex Albon instead of his more experienced teammate, Daniil Kvyat. However, Albon was ultimately dropped after his first full season in 2020.
The fact that anyone other than Tsunoda is even being considered is surprising—not just because he has more than four years of experience, but also because his skillset seems to make him the most suitable candidate.
