Red Bull confirm Yuki Tsunoda to take Liam Lawson's seat at senior team

Red Bull have announced Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson are to swap seats in its F1 program, with Tsunoda taking a seat at Red Bull Racing with immediate effect.

The 24-year-old Japanese driver will take the seat alongside Max Verstappen for F1’s next round at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Lawson returning to Red Bull’s junior team for the round at Suzuka on the weekend around April 6th.

The move makes Tsunoda the third different driver to race for Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen in four races, with the team having moved Lawson to the senior team after choosing to remove Sergio Perez at the end of the 2024 season.

Tsunoda had joined Red Bull’s junior program in 2017 and after finishing third in Formula 2 in 2020, he was promoted to Formula One with Red Bull’s sister team, then called Alpha Tauri, in 2021.

He has a best championship result of 12th, achieved last season, with a best individual race result of 4th at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The move sees Lawson return after only two races, with the New Zealand driver having struggled in the first two races of the 2025 F1 season. Lawson failed to score points in any race, having been knocked out in the first part of qualifying in the Australian Grand Prix and qualifying last of all in both sprint and Grand Prix qualifying at the last race in China.

Speculation of a move had been heavily played in the media, with several sources reporting that a decision was reached at a crisis meeting of senior Red Bull staff in Dubai to make the switch between Tsunoda and Lawson.

Lawson had previously been selected over Tsunoda in December when Red Bull chose to cut short Perez’s stay with the team as partner to Verstappen.

In a statement, Red Bull’s Team Principal Christian Horner said the move was being justified to take Lawson out of the firing line after a difficult start and to hope Tsunoda’s experience could help develop the car and fight for the championships.

Horner said, “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. 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’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.”