Red Bull’s decision to fire Liam Lawson after just two races is among the most brutal driver decisions in Formula One history.
In a week, the 23-year-old New Zealander will rejoin Red Bull’s second squad, Racing Bulls, after switching places with Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda at the following event in Japan.
According to insiders who spoke to BBC Sport, Red Bull executives, including team principal Christian Horner, made the decision during a meeting in Dubai on Monday.
Although Red Bull declined to comment, it is anticipated that they will formally acknowledge it later this week.
The brutality with which Red Bull manages their young driver program has long been well known.
The way they have handled Lawson, even in that situation, has led to significant skepticism about Formula 1.
After Lawson’s Red Bull career had a terrible start, the Dutch tabloid De Telegraaf was the first to confirm the move.
The New Zealander crashed out of the race in the rain after qualifying 18th in Australia’s season-opening race.
He finished the two races in China last weekend in 14th and 12th place, having qualified last for both the sprint and the grand prix.
He has lost by an average of 0.88 seconds against teammate Verstappen in qualifying. Verstappen placed third in the Shanghai sprint, fourth in the Chinese Grand Prix, and second in Australia.
At the Chinese Grand Prix, Tsunoda, a Japanese driver, was questioned if he would accept a promotion to Red Bull if it were offered.
“Yeah, why not?” he said. Always. In Japan? Yes, absolutely. The car is faster, after all.
Lawson’s response to the circumstance was, “I’ve raced him for years, raced him in junior categories and beat him – and I did in F1 as well, so he can say whatever he wants.”
Even though Sergio Perez had two years left on his contract, the management decided to pay him off, hence Lawson was promoted to Red Bull this season.
Following a challenging 2024 in which Perez failed to place on the podium following the season’s fifth race, the choice was made.
Last year, Perez’s efforts helped the team place third in the constructors’ championship, behind Ferrari and McLaren.
Red Bull concluded it was time to fire Perez because his 2024 downturn had replicated a similar pattern of performance in 2023.
Lawson and Tsunoda were the options they had for a successor, and they went with the New Zealander even though he had only won 11 Grand Prix races in two seasons, while Tsunoda had been a member of the team since 2021.
