Red Bull are set to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda after just two races of the Formula 1 season from next week’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Lawson will return to Racing Bulls – the company’s junior team – from the Suzuka race in a straight swap with Tsunoda after a difficult start at Red Bull as Max Verstappen’s team-mate.
Red Bull have not commented and no official announcement is expected on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Lawson has endured a dismal start to 2025 so far, being knocked out at the first stage of all three qualifying sessions (including one in the Sprint format) and has struggled for race pace compared to Verstappen, scoring no points in Australia and China.
Tsunoda has been at the sister Red Bull outfit since 2021 but did not get the nod to replace Sergio Perez, who was left without an F1 seat for 2025.
He will be the fifth team-mate for Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo left at the end of 2018.
More to follow…
