Liam Lawson is on the brink of being replaced by Red Bull after just two rounds of the new Formula 1 season. The Kiwi was promoted to partner Max Verstappen this year after Sergio Perez was shown the door last December.
But Lawson has floundered, failing to score a single point so far having qualified 18th in Australia and then dead last for both the sprint and main races in China. And Red Bull are poised to take action and remove the struggling 23-year-old from the firing line.
Mirror Sport understands Yuki Tsunoda is set to get the nod to race alongside Verstappen at his home race, the Japanese Grand Prix, on April 6. Lawson will return to sister squad Racing Bulls to partner rookie Isack Hadjar.
Red Bull last night declined to comment further than saying there is nothing confirmed. That situation is expected to change in the coming days.
The decision to promote Lawson, who had raced 11 times in F1 prior to the start of this season, over Tsunoda with his four years of experience in the sport was widely questioned when it was confirmed last December. Replacing him so early in the campaign will be seen as an admission by team principal Christian Horner that his outfit got it wrong.
The second seat alongside Verstappen remains one of Horner’s biggest headaches after years of failed appointments. Since Daniel Ricciardo left at the end of the 2018 season, only Perez has lasted for more than 18 months in what has been dubbed ‘the toughest job in F1’.
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Pierre Gasly replaced Ricciardo but was replaced mid-way through the 2019 campaign as he buckled under the pressure. Alex Albon only had a handful of races in F1 under his belt when he was promoted to take the Frenchman’s place, but he too was moved on after the 2020 season.
Perez was signed as Red Bull looked away from their driver academy for a rare external appointment. He won five races over four seasons with the team but often tried too hard to prove he could beat Verstappen, and his form well and truly wilted last year after signing a contract extension.
The Mexican made it to the end of the year but had his contract terminated in December. Ricciardo, who had returned to try to win back his old seat alongside Verstappen, had already been shown the door and so they were left to choose between Lawson and Tsunoda for the role.
Horner and Red Bull’s young driver chief Helmut Marko went for Lawson, worried that Tsunoda’s fiery temperament may cause problems alongside Verstappen. But they now have no choice but to give the Japanese his chance, having seemingly conceded that Lawson was the wrong choice.
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