New Zealand's Liam Lawson has been replaced by Japan's Yuki Tsunoda at Formula 1's Red Bull Racing after just two grands prix.
Lawson will drop to RBR's junior team, Racing Bulls, where he raced in 11 races over the past two seasons before being promoted to take the Red Bull seat alongside F1 champion Max Verstappen after Sergio Perez's exit.
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Lawson will be alongside rookie Frenchman Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls for next week's Japanese Grand Prix after a difficult opening two races of the 2025 season.
The 23-year-old raced alongside Tsunoda in the latter stages of 2024 after replacing Daniel Ricciardo at the then-named RB team, and his performances were enough to earn him a promotion to Red Bull.
However, Lawson struggled to get to grips with the difficult RB21 race during the Australian and Chinese Grand Prix weekends, crashing out in the former amid treacherous conditions before crossing the line in 15th in Shanghai, which later became 12th following the disqualifications of three drivers ahead.
Rumours quickly mounted that Lawson could be replaced at the team as early as Round 3 in Japan, which was confirmed on Thursday before F1 returns to Suzuka on April 4-6.
Lawson's situation mirrors the cases of Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly, who each returned to the sister outfit from Red Bull after three races into 2016 and 12 in 2019, respectively.
"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 Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner, who was believed to be a Lawson advocate.
"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 Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well."
After making his debut for the then-named AlphaTauri squad back in 2021, Tsunoda has continued to develop as a driver across the years that have followed, the Japanese racer having outscored his recent teammates including Nyck de Vries and Ricciardo, scoring 30 of the team's 46 points in 2024.
He went on to make his test debut for Red Bull at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi – but it was subsequently confirmed that Lawson rather than Tsunoda would replace Perez at the Milton Keynes-based outfit in 2025.
Tsunoda – now in his fifth campaign in Formula 1 – went on to state that he could “understand” why the team chose Lawson, insisting that he did not feel “super angry or disappointed” upon hearing the news.