It’s official, home hero Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson at Red Bull Racing for the F1 Japanese GP at Suzuka, round 3 of the 2025 season. The New Zealander returns to Racing Bulls.
How we got to this point
At the end of 2024, Sergio Pérez and Red Bull Racing parted ways. After winning five Grands Prix for the team, and finishing 2nd in the Drivers’ World Championship, his time at the team came to an end following four seasons together.
Pérez bagged four podiums in the first five races last season to be P2 in the standings at that point. However, he would fail to appear on the rostrum for the rest of the year, falling to 8th in the Drivers’ Championship. The six-time race winner ended up 285 points behind teammate and World Champion Max Verstappen.
On paper, it looked to be a logical decision due to the significant gap. The story was quite different, though. While Sergio Pérez struggled massively with the RB20, teammate Max Verstappen also had very difficult races as the year went on with the car getting more and more difficult to drive. He had to be extremely ruthless to fend off Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Championship. Four-time World Champion Verstappen continually defended the Mexican driver.
Liam Lawson gets the nod over Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull Racing for the 2025 F1 season
Following the dismissal of Daniel Ricciardo after the Singapore GP, Liam Lawson joined RB F1 for the final six rounds. He was outqualified by his Japanese teammate in every single Grand Prix session, with Tsunoda coming out on top 8-4 in points.
Despite only starting 11 Grands Prix in his career by the end of last year, Red Bull Racing decided to pick Lawson to drive alongside Max Verstappen.
A dreadful start to the season for Liam Lawson at Red Bull Racing
A double-header in Australia and China kicked the 2025 season off. Those races could have not gone worse for Liam Lawson.
At Albert Park he was out in Q1 as a ragged final lap and running onto the grass at turn 13 saw him forced to abort it. He was rather unlucky regarding his crash in the race as the dry tyres had no chance against such a wet track.
China was even worse. He qualified last in both the Sprint and Grand Prix sessions. Over the three qualifying sessions, he was 1.0s, 0.8s and 0.7s slower than Max Verstappen in (S)Q1.
After a decent Sprint where he gained six spots, the Grand Prix itself was a disaster. The Kiwi had no pace as Red Bull’s set-up changes did not work. He finished (P15; P12 after the DSQs) over a minute behind teammate Verstappen in the end.
Red Bull Racing finally gives Yuki Tsunoda a chance, starting at the F1 Japanese GP
24-year-old Yuki Tsunoda is finally getting the chance he has been craving, and it is one that is deserved in the eyes of many people.
After a very tough rookie campaign in 2021 against Pierre Gasly, he has come on leaps and bounds since then. He saw off Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo, beat Liam Lawson last year, and the Japanese driver has had a small edge on Isack Hadjar in 2025 to date.
The mammoth challenge Yuki Tsunoda faces
Speaking to Dutch media in Shanghai at the Chinese GP, Max Verstappen spoke about the difficulties of driving the RB21, believing Liam Lawson would do better in a Racing Bulls car as it has a wider operating window. As Tsunoda and Hadjar have proven, the car is very fast as well, a contender to lead the midfield.
“If you look at the difference between the two drivers at the other teams, they are all closer together.
“It also shows that our car is extremely tough.
“I think if you put Liam in the Racing Bulls car, he will go faster. I really think so. That car is easier to drive than ours. I also notice that when I talk to Liam.
“Last year, I didn’t think the difference between him and Yuki Tsunoda was that big. Otherwise the team wouldn’t make the choice to put him in at Red Bull either.”
Tsunoda tested the RB20 at Abu Dhabi last year in the post-season one held in December. However, much like Lawson was, he is very short of experience in Red Bull F1 machinery.
While Max Verstappen has finished P2 and P4 in the opening two rounds of the 2025 season, the problems from 2024 for Red Bull continue as the car is tricky to drive and extract lap time from.
Christian Horner:
“It has been difficult to see Liam [Lawson] struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and as a result we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch.
“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.
“We acknowledge there is a lot of work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki [Tsunoda]’s experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car. 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.”
Laurent Mekies:
“We’re incredibly proud of Yuki earning his well-deserved move to Oracle Red Bull Racing! His progress last year, and more recently from the very start of 2025, has been nothing less than sensational.
“Personally, and collectively, it has been an immense privilege to witness those progresses for all of us in Faenza and in Milton Keynes. Yuki’s energy and positivity has lightened up every corner of our factories and of our garage and he will always be a Racing Bull! We wish him all the success he deserves at ORBR.
“Everyone here at VCARB is looking forward to working 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 [Hadjar] having started so strongly with us already, we know we have a young and strong lineup.”
