Dutch driver lashes out at Red Bull for their treatment of Liam Lawson

Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde blasted Red Bull for firing Liam Lawson after two races into the 2025 season. The Kiwi driver was demoted to the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team and would be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda at the Milton-Keynes outfit.

The 23-year-old joined the Austrian team at the end of the 2024 season and was selected as the replacement for the outgoing Sergio Perez. Heading into the second seat alongside Max Verstappen, Lawson had just 11 F1 races under his belt in his two separate stints with the Faenza-based outfit in 2023 and 2024, when he replaced Daniel Ricciardo.

However, after two difficult races in Australia and China to start his Red Bull journey, the former world champion team decided to send him back to the junior team.

On his official social media platform Instagram, Van der Garde, who raced in F1 in the mid-2010s, was left fuming with Red Bull's treatment of the Kiwi and wrote a passionate message, saying:

"I’m getting a bit tired of all the comments that F1 is the toughest sport in terms of performance and when you’re underdeliver you’ve gotta face the consequences. Yes, you gotta perform. Yes, the pressure is insane. But in my opinion, this comes closer to bullying or a panic move than actual high athlete achievements. They made a decision - fully aware - gave Liam two races only to crush his spirit.

"Don’t forget the dedication, hard work, and success Liam has put in his career so far to achieve the level where he is now. Yes, he underperformed the first two races - but if anyone’s aware of that it’s himself. Perhaps he has suggested this himself, but if not I wish Liam all the strength and courage to get to the grid in Japan. Trust yourself, get your head up, prove them wrong. @liamlawson30."

The Dutch driver's post garnered over 175k likes, including fellow F1 drivers like Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, and Nico Hulkenberg.

Red Bull advisor breaks his silence on Max Verstappen's reaction to Liam Lawson's axing

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko stated that as a team, Max Verstappen was "not happy" with their decision to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Speaking with de Telegraaf, the Austrian reflected on the decision and said:

“We know Max is not happy. But we need two cars at the front. “[It’s] not only for the constructors’ championship but also to help Max to his fifth world title. Then you can achieve more strategically in races.”

Max Verstappen has been vocal about Red Bull RB21's issues on the track and constantly mentioned that replacing the drivers was not the solution to improve the performance of the team.