"Let's see if Yuki Tsunoda stays long enough to see Horner leave RBR": Fans react to Liam Lawson's departure from Red Bull

Red Bull has announced a swap between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda in Red Bull and Racing Bulls from the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix. From the upcoming race in Suzuka, the Japanese driver will partner Max Verstappen in the RB21. Red Bull announced Lawson after weeks of criticism, and fans took to social media to share their reactions to the latest update.

Lawson navigated topsy-turvy times in Formula 1 in the last six months. He has seen it all, from returning to Racing Bulls as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo and having Sergio Perez's seat at Red Bull, to losing it after two races.

The latest announcement comes right after the 2025 Chinese GP, where Lawson failed to make amends on back-to-back race weekends. The New Zealander underperformed heavily in qualifying in Australia and China. As a result, Red Bull could not help but axe Lawson amid Tsunoda's brilliant performances.

Following Red Bull's announcement on Thursday, fans' reactions on X were mostly based on how the second seat alongside Verstappen is cursed, and the car is not on par with that of the Dutchman.

"Excellent. Now let's see if Yuki Tsunoda stays long enough to see Horner leave RBR."

"Replacing a driver after just two races is shocking, then taking Tsunoda a driver they have been disregarding for the second Red bull seat says how Redbull officials are incompetent"

"I swear if Tsunoda all of a sudden turns to shit then what's the point," a fan wrote.

Here are more reactions.

"Liam was ousted just after two races? They should have at least waited for the Suzuka race, a track Liam is familiar with," another said.

"Big oof to Liam. What if Yuki doesn’t work out though? Bring Hakkinen out of his sabbatical?!" one wrote.

"Great, now Yuki's career will be ruined because the car is really shit!" yet another tweeted.

Notably, Yuki Tsunoda is set to become Max Verstappen's third teammate at Red Bull in just four races. Earlier, Perez raced alongside him in Abu Dhabi, followed by Lawson in Melbourne and Shanghai.

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What did the Red Bull boss say about the Yuki Tsunoda-Liam Lawson swap?

Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Visa Cash App Racing Bulls | Getty Images

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said that the swap between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson is purely a "sporting decision." The team wanted to extract the best from the drivers and pace up the Constructors' Championship battle against McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes:

"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.

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."

In the last two races, Lawson finished last in most of the qualifying and, as a result, could not claim any points while Tsunoda grabbed three points in a Racing Bulls car.