Yuki Tsunoda doesn’t hold back on suggestion of replacing Liam Lawson in the near future

Yuki Tsunoda has not held back his thoughts regarding the possibility of replacing Liam Lawson at Red Bull Racing in the near future. The Japanese driver has long been one of several names linked with the second seat at the Milton Keynes outfit.

The Racing Bulls driver detailed how he feels ready to take up the challenge of being Max Verstappen’s teammate, even as early as the next round of racing—the Japanese Grand Prix.

Talks about the second Red Bull Racing seat have surfaced following a streak of underwhelming performances from Liam Lawson. The New Zealand driver, who was selected by the Austrian team hierarchy to replace the departing Sergio Perez at the end of the 2024 season, has failed to live up to the lofty standards expected of him.

So far, the 23-year-old Kiwi has only been able to muster a DNF and two consecutive 20th-place qualifications across the Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint and race weekend. This showing by Lawson sparked the obvious question of the possibility of him being replaced, and Tsunoda, who was his teammate in 2024, did not hesitate to share his thoughts on replacing him.

Speaking to the media, as reported by ESPN, the 24-year-old, when quizzed about taking on the challenge to drive for Red Bull, stated:

"Yeah, why not. Always."

Quizzed further about whether the switch could happen as early as the Japanese Grand Prix, he responded:

"In Japan? Yeah, 100%. I mean, the car is faster," before he was whisked away by his team’s PR person.

After his return to F1 in the 2024 season, Lawson has failed to outqualify Tsunoda in any racing format. Despite being in the faster Red Bull car, Lawson has also been unable to beat the Japanese driver in any qualifying sessions this season.

Helmut Marko speaks on Liam Lawson’s future

Helmut Marko shared his thoughts on what could become of Liam Lawson’s future following his underwhelming form with the Red Bull team. The #30 car, driven by the Kiwi, failed to make it out of Q1 at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and could only muster a 20th-place qualifying position at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lawson’s underwhelming form is not helped by the impressive lap times Red Bull junior drivers—Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda—have continued to set with the Racing Bulls car. The duo qualified for Q3, securing P7 and P9 starting spots for the Shanghai race.

However, when quizzed about what could become of Lawson’s future following his struggles, the Red Bull head of driver development, speaking to the media, stated:

"This is not what we expected," said Marko.

"We will discuss it calmly. We still have a few drivers among them [Red Bull’s junior academy] who can recommend themselves. Thank God we are in a good position.

"Let’s look at the positives: Isack Hadjar, who has never driven on this track before, is banging out incredible times in his second race, making no mistakes.

"What he has shown so far is absolutely fascinating. The sun [Hadjar] and the shadow [Lawson] are close together, and we’ll see what happens."

When quizzed about whether replacing Lawson could be on the cards, the 81-year-old responded:

"Formula 1 is a competitive sport. Ultimately, that’s what counts."

Whether Lawson will be replaced mid-season remains to be seen, but judging by Red Bull’s history, the 23-year-old is staring at a possible replacement from the Milton Keynes outfit if he doesn’t improve his form.