Liam Lawson has made his first comment since Red Bull confirmed he will no longer drive for them this year.
Red Bull announced today it had dropped Lawson from its race team line-up in favour of his former team mate Yuki Tsunoda. The pair will swap seats, with Lawson returning to Racing Bulls.“Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole life,” said Lawson in a social media post. “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.”
Lawson’s ousting from the team was widely expected following his poor result in last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix. Over two rounds and three races he never progressed beyond the first stage of qualifying once and scored no points.
Before joining Red Bull he made 11 appearances for Racing Bulls, then known as RB, over the previous two seasons. He said he’s “excited and ready to go to work at one of my favourite places.”
The swap leaves Racing Bulls with two drivers who have started just 14 grands prix between them. Isack Hadjar started his first grand prix last week in Shanghai after crashing on the formation lap a week earlier in Melbourne.
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Team principal Laurent Mekies said the team will “work hard with Liam to give him the best environment possible for him to shine in our car and to express the talent we all know he has.”
“He fit in so well last year, and we cannot wait to challenge ourselves and grow as a team. With Isack having started so strongly with us already, we know we have a young and strong line-up.”
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Addme (@dontme)
27th March 2025, 22:28
I do feel for him. He did everything red bull asked of him, got in the car and it just doesn’t suit him. Opening race rain didn’t help. And Red Bull is a ruthless operation in that case.
I hope he can find his footing in with the racing bulls and get confidence back.
JeroenJ
28th March 2025, 8:11
No he didn’t. They asked him to be close to Max in quali and race and he clearly wasn’t.
Harsh decision: yes, especially if Yuki falters as well. But he still has a seat and can show his talent by reaching Q3 in tje VCARB on a track he knows well in a team he knows well.
MichaelN
28th March 2025, 10:05
Harsh but true, Lawson didn’t perform at all.
Were there mitigating circumstances, sure. But he was so far off that he shares at least a good portion of the blame for this fiasco.
HAL
28th March 2025, 10:33
Lawson did not perform at all… for 2 GP.
Even without any circumptances, it’s ridiculous. And there are circumptances…
At least Gasly got… 12 GP. Albon like 25. Perez struggled for 2 full seasons. Lawson 2 GP in 1 week interval, no possibility to go the factory, work with the team etc.
Apparently, RB is not willing to make any effort to “make it work”, just cast the dice, change, try again with another one. Opposite approach than Mercedes. And some people find it normal ? I think a lot of poeple did not want Lawson to succeed because he replaced Perez, Daniel, stole the seat of Yuki, etc. Very sensible, indeed.
MichaelN
28th March 2025, 14:11
Lawson did himself no favours by being straight up last. A Q2 exit around P12 and I suspect he would still be in that car in Japan. But who knows, maybe there are other factors that have made Red Bull unusually quick to make this change.
Le Jimster (@lejimster82)
28th March 2025, 14:04
This isn’t entirely true (about the car not suiting him). In Australia he probably would have qualified further up the grid but for some small but costly mistakes. He had some pace in the GP on the drying track he set the 2nd fastest time but Red Bull gambled a bit too hard and left him out too long which cost him.
In China his Qualifying was terrible and his Sprint race pace was alright, he was able to move forward a bit. They changed the car completely for the GP and made it “easier to drive” but Lawson was complaining the balance was only good for 1 lap and then it was awful to drive. Now maybe Lawson was doing something wrong in how he was bringing his tires in or something, but I suspect they took the car in a bad direction.
I personally think Lawson would have had a much, much better weekend at Suzuka in the RB21 knowing the track very well and having 3 practice sessions to dial himself in. But alas they got spooked and made the change. I wish Tsunoda the best because if he doesn’t find his feet quickly and experiences anything similar to Lawson it could be the end of his F1 career.
Doggy
28th March 2025, 14:58
Addme, I don’t think RBR asked Liam to qualify dead last in both grand prix, crash in at least one of two, and get outperformed by any of the other rookies with a much worse car.
Having said that, I’m not defending RBR at all. No one should be dropped after 2 races. That is abysmal
Addme (@dontme)
28th March 2025, 18:34
I should have been more specific. When I meant he did everything RB asked I was talking about his career at RB.
He has been working and waiting and now when it’s his time to shine, he gets demoted.
Doggy
28th March 2025, 22:02
No worries, I got your point initially, I was just being too satirical
Vol
28th March 2025, 0:18
I hope this to be a lesson/chance for “Mr.I am not here to make friends” to mature himself.
HAL
28th March 2025, 10:42
That’s what is really is about ain’t it ?
Lawson had a scrap with the very sweet and always mannered Alonso (there really was nothing dramatic on the track, but Alonso was not happy). And then, he had a scrap with Perez who launched a semi hearted attack on Lawson before pushing him wide and he dear to resist (how can he be so rude, it’s not like F1 was a competition). And then Perez, 1 lap down, blocked him deliberately as a relatiation for his own incompetencies and Lawson gave him the bird… Ooof, man ! (we used to laugh when other driver did it in the past, but apparently not in this case).
So he deserves to be demoted. Right.
Erkr
29th March 2025, 11:30
He continues to criticise Yuki when they’re supposed to be friends. All this bravado and look at his popularity. He says he doesn’t check social media because he knows how much backlash he has created. He has been humbled and hopefully he learns from this. If not, there is no loss to F1.
Doggy
28th March 2025, 15:00
Also a good point that no body talked about. Both have terrible attitude. RBR and Lawson.
But I can see why Horner and Marko hired him . He is a younger version of them.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
28th March 2025, 0:53
Mate, you’re a Kiwi, I’m sure you’ll hop in the Racing Bull and give it the jandal just fine.
Show them what they missed out on.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
28th March 2025, 1:00
I think the bigger concern now is what happens to Red Bull if Max leaves? At the current expected performance, the odd podium is the best he can hope for this year and that will largely rely on cars ahead failing. On pure performance, he’ll be lucky to consistently finish 5th. I can’t imagine Max tolerating that for long. Say he jumps to Mercedes, who on earth is going to lead Bed Bull? Lawson hasn’t forgotten how to drive in 3 months. I can’t help but feel that the current Red Bull is a genuinely poor car that Max is making look reasonable. If you ask me, they’re at risk of becoming a midfield team, or dare I say it, a backmarker…
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
28th March 2025, 1:04
Yes, it’s a good point, let’s say verstappen gets injured like schumacher in 1999 and they get another not-so-good driver, then indeed they would look like backmarkers, it’s not like the car suddenly suits a driver cause verstappen isn’t there, and even if verstappen decided to leave, it would take time until the car is driveable for an average driver.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
28th March 2025, 1:05
Really reminds me of the benettons schumacher drove: capable of winning races and championships in the hands of a top driver, but alesi and berger said they were horrible cars, very difficult to drive.
An Sionnach
28th March 2025, 9:08
Yes. It seems exactly like that. Most struggled to do anything with those cars. Even though he was sure he had a different car than Schumacher (without evidence as they say today), Johnny Herbert actually did okay. Must say something for his abilities. Is he available for Red Bull? I’m sure Max would love to have him on board!
Alonslow
28th March 2025, 3:09
They go back to what they were in the 90s, a midfielder, but it really depends on where is Max leaving, is he leaving F1? because if he goes to another top team then obviously whoever he is replacing is a prime choice like Max to Merc? then Russell is the replacement.
Also reported your comment, it was a mistake, the site needs a cancel report button or at least a confirmation step.
An Sionnach
28th March 2025, 9:02
Red Bull didn’t exist in the 90s. We only had real motor racing teams back then, like the one for Benetton, a clothing company!
IMOLAFTW
28th March 2025, 13:18
Red Bull Sauber?
IMOLAFTW
28th March 2025, 13:18
Or Stewart GP?
Alonslow
28th March 2025, 17:58
00’s! fixed, of course Steward kinda counts? it does whenever F1 puts an article about teams actually being exactly the same even though they were sold around.
An Sionnach
28th March 2025, 21:15
It’s funny thinking back to that Red Bull-sponsored Sauber. I thought that the strange sponsor (a drinks company!) was a sign that they couldn’t get a proper one and would never get anywhere. 7-up briefly sponsored Jordan.
An Sionnach
28th March 2025, 21:45
I thought about the Stewart team, but didn’t think that counted. It is the same team, though. Red Bull sponsoring Sauber kind of does, even though that was a different team. Not sure I’m making sense, now?!? It’s hard to believe that huge success would eventually come their way from that beginning.
Patrick (@paeschli)
28th March 2025, 7:30
The only move I could see is Max -> Mercedes, so if I am Red Bull I grab whoever Mercedes lets go and pair him with whoever managed to hold onto that second Red Bull seat until the end of the year.
MurasamaRA300 (@murasamara300)
28th March 2025, 11:47
Verstappen could go to Aston. Alonso is a veteran and he may retire.
Adrian Newey is already there and Max would have the perfect wingman in Lance Stroll.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
28th March 2025, 1:01
It’s sad, yes, to lose the red bull seat after 2 races, since it was his dream, as a red bull junior, however this is a mistake red bull made when they rushed him into the main team for 2025: you have 2 drivers with a similar performance, one is tired of being at toro rosso and has a lot more experience, the other one just got there and only has a few races of total experience, it makes sense to promote the more experienced, give him half a season, meanwhile the inexperienced driver gets more races under his belt, and if the experienced driver fails, you can swap maybe, but the way they did it just made no sense.
Lawson could’ve also said: nah, I’m not ready, give the seat to tsunoda, but difficult thing for a driver to say when they get the chance at a top team.
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
28th March 2025, 1:39
I don’t think he could’ve. In doing so would show a slither of weakness and doubt which would result in immediate rejection.
Which is a shame, because vulnerability helps us grow. But you cannot demonstrate such vulnerabilities as a driver—at least not in the Red Bull camp.
Mark (@mrcento)
28th March 2025, 1:49
I don’t even think he could do that. Drivers have to back themselves when the chance comes. If he rejected that offer, he was probably never getting another one, especially if Helmut the helmet had any say in it the next time a vacancy opened up, rather than being praised for his maturity saying he wasn’t the right choice at that point, he’d have Markko in the press calling him weak minded and not able to handle the pressure at the top team who would likely crumble if it got tough.
I think in Lawsons worst nightmares, he was probably around where Perez was and would get at least half the season to figure things out if it wasn’t going well, in reality he’s had 3 nightmare qualis, 2 races with mitigating circumstances (Aus, conditions and China, throwing an experimental setup on) starting from the pit lane. Only semi-representitive race he got was the sprint, where he at least did respectably from starting last.
Think the absolute killer was qualifying for the Chinese GP, though, that sprint should have been a turning point for him, started last, but at least showed something in the race, that’s the point no doubt RBR would be going ‘Ok it’s been poor, but now we have the feature race, he’s just done a bit of a better job in the sprint, we’re not expecting miracles but hopefully some progress, Q2 at least and we can race from there…’ only to stick it P20 and last, again.
MichaelN
28th March 2025, 14:21
Your suggestion makes sense, but I suspect that Red Bull is not interested in keeping Tsunoda once they cut ties with Honda. Better to give Lawson a go straight away and not have two subsequent years of first time drivers in the main team. However, his very poor performance meant it was, or seemed at least, worthwhile to give Tsunoda a go. Can’t be much worse.
And Lawson was never going to say no. He might not ever get that chance again.
Chris Horton
28th March 2025, 7:05
I struggle to actually feel sorry for Lawson after the way he conducted himself last year, but Red Bull also conduct themselves in a pretty poor manner.
I haven’t heard much rowing back on the hate Perez got last season for exactly this same situation. Hopefully a little vindication for him.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
28th March 2025, 7:08
This will certainly feel like a slap in the face for him, but he appears to have a strong personality and has already proven he can compete in F1 when he did a brilliant job standing in for Ricciardo at short notice.
I hope he can tune out all the negative comments and emotions, and just drive the wheels off that Racing Bull because he is obviously a talented driver.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
28th March 2025, 8:51
What will they do if Tsunoda struggles too? There’s a good chance that could happen, given his lack of experience with the car.
Martin (@f1hornet)
28th March 2025, 9:31
I guess maybe put Hadjar in if he starts regularly outscoring Lawson? I honestly think there’s an opportunity for Lawson to go back to the senior team, if Tsunoda performs as badly as Liam did over the first two races, and if Liam is clearly better than Hadjar. I think the reason Red Bull chose Lawson over Tsunoda in the first place is that Lawson was expected to improve over time as he gained more experience, whereas Tsunoda was already at his peak, and if that does play out, this will be a short term patch before a more experienced and confident Lawson comes back. Of course, what they should have done is put Tsunoda in the Red Bull seat in the first place and left Lawson at VCARB to gain experience before promoting him in 2026 if he had proved himself and Tsunoda had failed.
An Sionnach
28th March 2025, 9:13
I hope there’s a chance that Liam can gain experience and get back in there. Not if he’s not good enough. He seems an adaptable driver from his history of debut wins in various series. Might be an over-simplification at the pointy end of F1, but I like him.
Margus P
28th March 2025, 20:33
It has been quite clear long time that red bull expects that new guy must perform immediately.