For what can be considered yet another ‘silly season’, Red Bull driver Liam Lawson has been demoted to their junior team, Visa CashApp Racing Bulls. It was also announced on the morning of March 27 that long-time VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda would be promoted to the official Red Bull team alongside 4-time world champion Max Verstappen.
Fans started to lean into speculation of who would drive in the 2nd Red Bull seat after the team let go of driver Sergio Perez due to his unsuccessful 2024 season. At the beginning of the new season, Lawson was announced to replace Perez, effective immediately. The move sparked a lot of controversy, as many believed that Tsunoda deserved the seat more.
According to Red Bull, Lawson was chosen to replace Perez due to his ‘potential’ on the track and high ‘self-belief’, which from Red Bull’s point of view, was superior to Tsunoda’s.
Suspicions of a potential seat-swap started to rise after Lawson did not finish (DNF) the Australian Grand Prix and placed 12th in the Chinese Grand Prix (after qualifying last in both the Sprint and Main Race qualifying), just only the second race of the season.
With the swap, Yuki is now driving a more high-speed car; Red Bull has hopes that he can contribute to another constructor’s championship win.
Tsunoda completed his first race as a Red Bull driver this past weekend in his home race in Japan. However, it did not go as everyone hoped, as he qualified in 15th and finished in 12th. Although he was not expected to compete up to the Dutchman Verstappen’s level, there were hopes that he could bridge the gap that Lawson had left at his former team. Lawson, on the other hand, qualified in 14th and finished in 17th.
With seat swaps, underperforming rookies, and current front-runners McLaren, it is expected to be yet another drama, action-packed season of Formula 1.
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