Yuki Tsunoda looks set to replace the struggling Liam Lawson at Red Bull just two races into the new Formula One season amid ongoing talks at the team.
Sources with knowledge of discussions, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated talks are ongoing for Tsunoda, 24, to make his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix next weekend — also his home race — alongside Max Verstappen, and for Lawson to return to Racing Bulls.
Although the plans are still to be finalized, any move for Tsunoda to make the jump up to the Red Bull car would also be supported by Honda, his long-term backer and Red Bull’s engine supplier.
It emerged over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend that senior Red Bull management were already mulling a swap between Tsunoda, who races for Red Bull’s sister team, Racing Bulls, and Lawson after the New Zealander’s rough start to life with the team.
Honda first gave support to Tsunoda when he was racing in Formula Four, the lowest level of single-seater car racing, through to him becoming Japan’s first full-time F1 driver in seven years when he debuted in 2021.
Honda also owns the Suzuka circuit where the Japanese Grand Prix is held. This will be the final Japanese Grand Prix where Honda is a Red Bull partner ahead of its switch to become Aston Martin’s engine supplier from next year.
Red Bull already had a public show run event planned in Tokyo for next week ahead of the race weekend, which would now likely mark Tsunoda’s first public outing in Red Bull Racing colors if terms can be nailed down in the coming days.
Red Bull has always operated with contracts that allow it to swap drivers between its two teams. In 2016, it dropped Daniil Kvyat back to Toro Rosso (now known as Racing Bulls) after just four races so it could promote Verstappen to its senior team. Verstappen won on debut for Red Bull in Spain.
The team made a similar move in 2019 by swapping Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon after 12 races due to Gasly’s poor form. Albon would retain the seat for a year and a half before being dropped in favor of Sergio Perez.
Lawson was named as Perez’s replacement at the end of last year after Red Bull reached an agreement to terminate the Mexican driver’s contract for 2025 due to his dwindling form. The decision to overlook Tsunoda for the seat was put down to the belief that Lawson had greater potential.
But Lawson, who had just 11 race starts to his name compared to Tsunoda’s five seasons of experience on the F1 grid, has struggled to get to grips with the notoriously difficult Red Bull car. He qualified 18th in Australia before finishing last in qualifying for both the sprint and main race in China. On average, he has lapped 0.880 seconds slower than Verstappen in the three qualifying sessions.
Speaking on Sunday after the race in China, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it was the team’s “duty” to support Lawson and help rebuild his confidence. But he failed to confirm that Lawson would be in the car for Suzuka, instead saying the team would go away and review all of the available data about his performance.
(Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
