“Liam Lawson is already out for the next race”: Schumacher confirms big Red Bull switch at the Japanese Grand Prix

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher confirmed that Red Bull is expected to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda as early as the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix. Lawson has struggled to adapt to the RB21, qualifying last in the previous two sessions and failing to make an impression in the races.

Red Bull replaced Sergio Perez with Lawson for the 2025 season, hoping the young New Zealander would be an upgrade over the veteran Mexican driver. However, the 23-year-old Kiwi has endured a miserable start to his campaign, continuing the dreaded trend of second drivers failing to close the gap to four-time champion Max Verstappen.

Following the Chinese GP, where Liam Lawson was classified P12 after multiple disqualifications, Sky Sports pundit Ralf Schumacher confirmed major changes within the Red Bull team ahead of the Japanese GP. According to Schumacher, Yuki Tsunoda will join forces with Max Verstappen, while Lawson will step down to the VCARB team to regroup. Sky Sports German posted on X:

"Turbulent times at Red Bull! 😳🚨 After just the second race, the racing team is making personnel changes. The previously disappointing Liam Lawson is losing his Red Bull seat and will instead drive for sister team Racing Bulls. Yuki Tsunoda will take his place and become Max Verstappen's new teammate. This is reported by Sky expert Ralf Schumacher."

"Liam Lawson is already out for the next race. Tsunoda will replace him," Schumacher stated.

There is no official confirmation regarding a driver swap between the two sister teams. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner declined to comment on speculation about dropping Liam Lawson after the Chinese GP. Horner said that the 23-year-old Kiwi has plenty of potential and insisted that his rocky start to the season has added extra pressure.

Although Lawson was competitive in his 11 starts for VCARB, he has struggled significantly since his recent promotion to Red Bull. While failing to score points in the opening rounds, his teammate Max Verstappen sits second in the standings, scoring 36 points for the team.

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Red Bull team principal addresses Liam Lawson's future

Following a disappointing weekend for Liam Lawson in Shanghai, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner addressed the Kiwi's future with the team. Horner stated that they will evaluate the data gathered during the race after making setup changes to Lawson's RB21.

The 51-year-old team principal refused to comment on the speculations about the driver swap, indicating the team has a "duty" to support him. He sees plenty of potential in the 23-year-old and insists that he is burdened by the pressure of a tough start to his season. He told Formula1.com:

"Look, I think everything is purely speculative at the moment. As I say, we’ve just finished this race, we’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it.

"I think Liam still has got potential, we’re just not realising that at the moment. I think the problem for him is he’s had a couple of really tough weekends and he’s got all the media on his back."

Horner also declined to confirm whether Yuki Tsunoda is the leading candidate to replace Lawson at Red Bull. He reiterated that the team is investigating the issues preventing Lawson from extracting more performance from the RB21. The Japanese GP is scheduled for April 4-6.