The first two races of the season have already brought plenty of discussion points, including the crisis Liam Lawson is facing after his move to Red Bull. The second seat at the Milton Keynes team has been a hot topic for years, and the New Zealander is just the latest in a long list of drivers who have had to face one of the toughest challenges in modern Formula 1—teaming up with Max Verstappen.
After another disappointing weekend with no spark, speculation has emerged that Red Bull could make a sudden change, swapping Yuki Tsunoda—who has long felt ready for the step up—with Lawson, who would then return to Racing Bulls.
There’s no point in hiding it: Liam Lawson himself is aware that his seat is seriously at risk, especially since Red Bull has not had a particularly strong start to the season, and having two drivers scoring points is crucial to maintaining a solid position in the Constructors’ standings.
However, Liam Lawson is asking for time and, above all, patience. It should not be forgotten that he has only 12 races under his belt, spread across three different championships due to his stints with AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls, meaning he has not had a consistent development path. Additionally, his start to this season saw him lose valuable track time in testing and free practice in Australia due to technical issues.
This does not entirely explain the New Zealander’s struggles, but it adds further complications. A driver with little experience needs as much track time as possible, and when combined with the fact that the RB21 has once again proven difficult to handle, it’s clear that all these factors create an extremely challenging situation to overcome.
In China, Liam Lawson qualified at the back of the grid in both sessions. Strategy decisions did not yield the desired results, but it is also evident that he lacks confidence in the car, which became particularly apparent in Shanghai with a lack of pace in the slower sections.
That’s why, on Sunday morning, Red Bull decided to experiment, breaking parc fermé to adjust the RB21’s setup and try a different approach. However, according to Lawson, few of these changes actually worked. Before the three disqualifications, the Red Bull driver had only managed to reach 15th place, aided by Yuki Tsunoda’s broken front wing and Jack Doohan’s penalty for forcing Isack Hadjar off track.
“We knew it would be tough, and we started from the pit lane to try something different with the car, but unfortunately, it didn’t work as we had hoped. What was already a difficult weekend became even harder today,” said Lawson.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to adapt, but I need to find a solution as soon as possible. I don’t have time to test the car and get used to it—we’re already deep into the season, and every race we lose points. That’s what I mean when I say I don’t have time.”
However, Lawson is fully aware that a swap could happen as soon as the next races—not just because Red Bull is ruthless, but also because Yuki Tsunoda continues to perform well at Racing Bulls and still dreams of promotion.
“I’m not stupid—I know that I’m here to give my best, and if I don’t, I won’t be here anymore. I’m focused on getting comfortable with the car as quickly as possible,” Liam Lawson added.
When asked about the gap between himself and Verstappen, particularly in qualifying, Lawson explained that the differences are minimal and in specific areas, which would typically only cost a couple of positions. There is some truth to this—telemetry data from Q1 showed that while Verstappen was not pushing to the limit, most of the gap came from Turns 1-2, 11-12, and the final hairpin, whereas in other parts of the track, the time loss was much smaller.
However, in such a tightly packed grid with an extremely high level of competition, even a few tenths can dramatically alter the standings and push a driver to the back of the field. Lawson defended himself when asked about the possibility of a swap with Yuki Tsunoda, which Red Bull could implement as early as the next Japanese Grand Prix.
“I’ve raced against him for years—I beat him in the junior categories, and I’ve beaten him in F1 too, so he can say whatever he wants,” said Lawson. The two had already competed together in the lower formulas, and one of the reasons Red Bull chose Lawson at the end of 2024 was that he had matched Yuki Tsunoda’s performances at Racing Bulls despite having far less experience. However, so far, that gamble is not paying off.
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