Lawson on “shock” Red Bull demotion: “Definitely not something I expected”

Liam Lawson has revealed that his demotion to Racing Bulls, after just two grands prix at Red Bull in the 2025 Formula 1 season, came as a surprise.

After Lawson struggled at both Melbourne and Shanghai – including qualifying 20th twice in China – Red Bull decided the situation called for an immediate driver swap, giving Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda a long-awaited chance in the main team.

Meanwhile, Lawson will strive to put his season back on track after a confidence-sapping stint in Milton Keynes, but having to settle for Racing Bulls again is obviously not what he was hoping for.

“It was definitely a shock, honestly,” Lawson told Sky Sports on Wednesday. “It's not something that I saw coming.

“The discussions we were having as well, I think, weren't really leaning in this direction, so it was definitely not something that I expected.”

Red Bull lost the constructors’ title last year due to how weakly Sergio Perez was performing in its second car; the team is in for another tough battle, with a 42-point deficit on championship leader McLaren just two rounds into the season.

Team principal Christian Horner admitted that the rationale behind the decision was the need for immediate results, although he also insisted on the importance of Lawson’s well-being.

“I think with everything that we saw in Australia and China, you could see that it was really affecting Liam quite badly,” Horner told Sky Sports.

Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing RB21

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“We could have left it, and I think that Liam is a driver with talent. Maybe within half a season he would have got there, but we just don't have that amount of time.

“It was something that was very clear to the engineering side within the team, just how much Liam was struggling with it all, and you could see that weight upon his shoulders.”

On the other hand, Lawson admitted to feeling ‘frustrated’ at not being afforded any more time, especially as Albert Park and Shanghai were two tracks he had not driven on previously, with the latter hosting a sprint weekend – featuring just one practice session.

“The car is hard to drive,” he said. “But we were going through a process of making that adjustment.

“Each session we were going out, we were sort of adjusting or getting used to something that was a little bit unknown. It's not so much a driving style or something like that. It's just literally adjusting. And for me, I just didn't have the time to do that.

“But obviously, it's not my decision, so I'm here to make the most of this one.”