Will Buxton pulls no punches as he blasts Red Bull's Christian Horner and Helmut Marko's treatment of Liam Lawson 

F1 pundit Will Buxton mentioned that he was "shocked" but not "surprised' that Red Bull let Liam Lawson go after just two races into the 2025 season. The Kiwi was chosen as the replacement for Sergio Perez at the end of the 2024 season after the Mexican was struggling to compete on the same level as his teammate Max Verstappen for the better part of two seasons.

Lawson, who had just 11 races under his belt, was selected ahead of fellow Red Bull junior Yuki Tsunoda for the top team ahead of the 2025 season. The decision had left many surprised given the Japanese driver had more experience and better results compared to the 23-year-old in the latter half of the year when they were racing for the same team.

However, after failing to get out of Q1 in three qualifying sessions and languishing at the back of the field in three competitive races in Australia and China, Liam Lawson was demoted to VCARB and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda.

While appearing on the Fast and the Curious podcast, Will Buxton blasted Christian Horner and Helmut Marko's management of its drivers, saying,

"Shocked that it's happened this quickly not necessarily surprised but even for Red Bull it's extreme. I think the "duty of care" line is laughable and it's almost gaslighting that we're doing this for Liam's own good, you're not.

"You're doing it for your own good the only duty of care that's being held there is towards Christian and Helmut's position leading that team it's panic stations and hit the Big Shiny destruct button." (6:30)

Yuki Tsunoda will race for Red Bull at his home race, the Japanese Grand Prix, for the first time after spending over four seasons on the junior team.

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Liam Lawson pens an emotional farewell post to Red Bull

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson stated that it was "tough" for him to take the decision to be demoted to the Faenza-based outfit as racing for Red Bull was his "dream".

On his social media platform, Instagram, the Kiwi posted an emotional farewell post and wrote:

"Being a @redbullracing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole life. It’s tough, but I'm grateful for everything that’s brought me to this point.

To every one of you who’s stood by me, thank you for all the support it means the world. Thank you @visacashapprb for the warm welcome, I’m excited and ready to go to work at one of my favorite places."

Liam Lawson had previously completed 11 races for VCARB in his two short stints replacing Daniel Ricciardo at the team in 2023 and 2024.