Red Bull has confirmed Yuki Tsunoda to replace Liam Lawson ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix to race alongside Max Verstappen! 

18^th of December 2024 

The 2024 season ended with shock among Red Bull fans and throughout the paddock when Sergio Perez made the decision to leave the team after a stressful 2024 season and a looming pressure from Christian Horner and Helmut Marko to perform better. There was an expectation of Yuki Tsunoda to get the seat among the Formula One community with Tsunoda proving his skills in the Racing Bulls car and even being in the sister team for over four years but never got the promotion he had been patiently waiting for. 

It became uncertain who would take the second seat to race alongside Verstappen after Perez’s departure. Daniel Ricciardo was the main candidate to take the second seat and to return to racing alongside Verstappen, to move up from Racing Bulls to Red Bull. However, Ricciardo later in the season failed to perform up to the standards of Horner and Marko, resulting in Ricciardo being replaced by Liam Lawson. Lawson racing in the last six races of the season alongside Tsunoda.  

19^th of December 2024 

The Formula One community was certain that Tsunoda would be racing alongside Verstappen for the 2025 season after Perez’s decision to leave. However, Red Bull announced Liam Lawson would be the driver to race alongside Verstappen for the 2025 season after just six races at Racing Bulls.  

This came as a shock throughout the community as Horner and Marko had been hinting for weeks beforehand of a Tsunoda and Verstappen line-up, but Tsunoda wasn’t the candidate Red Bull decided to go with.  

The start of the 2025 season 

Lawson started off the 2025 season in Australian Grand Prix where he qualified P18 after getting compared to his new teammate who qualified P3, outshining the rookie driver. Lawson’s bad luck didn’t end there after he collided with the barrier which ended his race early.   

The Chinese Grand Prix weekend saw the first Sprint Race of the season, which began with heartbreak for the New Zealand driver after getting knocked out in SQ1 to start P20 in the Sprint Race with his Dutch teammate Qualifying P2. Lawson finished the Sprint Race in P14 compared to Verstappen’s finish of P3. 

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Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix saw Verstappen claiming P4 with the rookie driver qualifying P20. Small improvements were seen in Lawson as he finished in Chinese Grand Prix in P12, but it wasn’t enough for Horner or Marko with word already floating round that Lawson was getting dropped. 

It takes time to learn the Red Bull car, it has been shown in past drivers, but it has also been shown that the second seat at Red Bull has never worked out, why is this? 

The Four-time World Champion has excelled in the Red Bull car, it has been the main factor in helping him win his World Title, but his teammates have never been able to catch up to him and have always been met with the axe and being replaced. It is obvious that the expectations and pressure in Red Bull to perform is strong, providing to be stressful for these second drivers. 

The stress can play on these drivers’ minds, which could cause them to underperform from the pressure of needing and wanting to do well. However, it could also be that the Red Bull is fitted to Verstappen’s driving style, which would make it hard for any driver to adapt to because every driver has their own driving style which is what helps them in the races when it comes to overtakes, driving round corners, going through slipstreams etc. This could be a key factor as to why the second drivers at Red Bull seem to perform poorly, it could all be down to the Red Bull car not being designed or fitted towards their driving style out on track. 

27^th of March 2025 

Red Bull started Thursday morning confirming Lawson to be replaced by Tsunoda after just two races and a Sprint Race, Lawson moving down to the sister team to race alongside Isack Hadjar.  

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This announcement was met with backlash from the Formula One community and even backlash from Verstappen himself. The community came to the same conclusion that this was too harsh, even for Red Bull. Red Bull does have their high expectations of making sure their drivers perform well; however, Lawson is just a rookie driver, and two races didn’t give him enough time to adapt to the car and prove he is worthy of the second Red Bull seat. Verstappen himself was disgruntled with the situation, finding it unfair that Lawson was dropped that early in the season, the Dutch man himself going as far as telling Horner and Marko to not drop Lawson, but his opinions weren’t taken into account. 

Yuki Tsunoda to Red Bull 

After four years at the sister team of Red Bull, having seen five teammates and constant promise of promotion, Tsunoda has finally gotten what he’s hoped for. The Verstappen and Tsunoda line up now becoming a reality, but what’s next? 

One main question has lingered from the announcement: 

Could Tsunoda reach the podium or even win a race? 

It’s an interesting question and it adds to the excitement of Tsunoda now racing alongside Verstappen, with a better car than the Racing Bulls it can maybe see Tsunoda challenging Verstappen out on track and possibly get his first win, but all of this will be made clear after the Japanese Grand Prix which will allow the Formula One community to see how Tsunoda can do in the Red Bull. 

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