Red Bull claim 'duty of care' to Lawson as Tsunoda swap confirmed for Japan

Red Bull have confirmed Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda will swap seats from next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, insisting they have made the move to "develop and protect" Lawson.

After just two races, the 23-year-old will return to Racing Bulls, with team principal Christian Horner citing a "duty of care", while Tsunoda gets his long-awaited chance to be Max Verstappen's team-mate after over four seasons in the second Red Bull team.

Verstappen is second in the F1 Drivers' Championship on 45 points, whereas Lawson has not scored any, leading Red Bull to "exercise a driver rotation".

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"It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and as a result we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch," said Horner.

"We came into the 2025 season with two ambitions: to retain the World Drivers' Championship and to reclaim the World Constructors' title, and this is a purely sporting decision."

Lawson, who will be Isack Hadjar's new team-mate at Racing Bulls, was chosen ahead of Tsunoda to replace Sergio Perez over the winter despite just 11 F1 race weekends under his belt

Horner cites Tsunoda's greater experience as a reason for the sudden swap, which is unprecedented in recent F1 history.

"We acknowledge there is a lot of work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki's experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car," continued Horner.

"We welcome him to the team and are looking forward to seeing him behind the wheel of the RB21.

"We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience as he continues his F1 career with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well."

How Lawson's short Red Bull stint went so wrong

Lawson has endured a tough 2025 so far, being knocked out at the first stage of all three qualifying sessions (including one in the Sprint format) and struggling for race pace compared to Verstappen.

He qualified 18th on his Red Bull debut at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix before crashing out in the rain, having been lapped at one point.

On the Saturday of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, Lawson made an ominous admission to Sky Sports F1, stating "I don't really have time" after he qualified last for a second consecutive day when Verstappen was on the second row of the grid.

Red Bull elected to start Lawson in the pit lane to radically change the car set-up and worryingly, the New Zealander showed no signs of improvement.

"The direction on Sunday in China was to make the car easier in a lot of ways and help the balance but unfortunately it went the wrong way and made the car a lot slower basically," he said.

"It's the way it is and something I have to get my head around."

Are Red Bull doing the right thing?

Sky Sports' Nigel Chiu:

"Red Bull are trying to rectify their mistake of not picking Tsunoda to replace Lawson from the start of this year but the timing of this dramatic swap is questionable.

"It feels like, after they did choose Lawson, at least give him the next triple-header of Japan-Bahrain-Saudi Arabia to prove himself, the former two tracks being circuits he has experience at, then make a switch if things don't improve.

"Lawson had never driven in Australia or China, which partly explains his struggles, and the latter was a Sprint weekend with just one practice session.

"Red Bull will point to needing instant improvement and perhaps feeling things can't get any worse by putting Tsunoda in after just two rounds.

"However, the pressure of a home race will only be magnified now for Tsunoda, and Suzuka is not a track at which you want to be getting used to a new car due to its unforgiving nature.

"Red Bull desperately need Tsunoda to perform or where else do they go? And what does Verstappen make of all this?"

Red Bull's F1 history of demoting drivers

Lawson is the fourth driver to be demoted by the main Red Bull team mid-season after Christian Klien in 2007, Daniil Kvyat in 2016 and Pierre Gasly in 2019.

Kvyat joined Red Bull at the start of 2015 but was suddenly dropped four races into the 2016 season after collisions in China and Russia. Verstappen took his Red Bull seat and won on his first outing with the team at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

In the case of Gasly, he regained his confidence and impressed for the second Red Bull team, with the highlight being a shock win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, before joining Alpine in 2023 where he still drives today.

At the long-named Toro Rosso, currently known as Racing Bulls, Scott Speed and Sebastien Bourdais were dropped mid-season in the late 2000s before a relative period of stability within the Red Bull teams.

Kvyat lost his Toro Rosso seat towards the end of 2017 but, unlike other drivers, returned in 2019. Nyck de Vries was given the boot during the summer break in 2023 for Daniel Ricciardo, who also ended up out of F1 a year later with six races remaining of the 2024 season for Lawson.

Formula 1 heads to the iconic Suzuka Circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix on April 4-6, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime