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F1 shakeup: Tsunoda switches to Red Bull, Lawson to resume Racing Bulls seat

Red Bull Racing needs two drivers who win significant points consistently

By Bruce Brown Mar 27, 2025 3:53 AM

F1 drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. — F1

When the red lights go out to start the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix on April 6, 2025, F1 drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson will trade seats in the Red Bull organization. Yuki Sonata will drive for Oracle Red Bull Racing, and Liam Lawson will drive for the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.

Lawson’s performance for Red Bull as Max Verstappen’s teammate in the 2025 Formula 1 racing season has been disappointing. On the other hand, Tsunoda impressed team principals and managers with his performance and attitude in the first two races of the year.

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The switch of the two drivers, announced on March 27th by racing by the Racing Bulls organization, has been the subject of much speculation in the past two weeks.

Why switch drivers now?

Yuki Tsunoda wearing a Red Bull shirt waving in 2024. — Yuki Tsunoda wearing a Red Bull shirt waving in 2024. Red Bull Content Pool

The Red Bull organization is unique because it fields two Formula 1 teams: Red Bull Racing, the senior team, and Racing Bulls, the junior team. Many were surprised last year when Liam Lawson was chosen instead of Tsunoda to be Max Verstappen’s teammate for the 2025 Formula 1 racing season.

When Lawson did not perform well in the first two races of the season in the Australian Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix, driver assignments between the two teams became a hot topic. Red Bull faces intense competition from McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes this year and cannot afford to take a long time to replace a driver who doesn’t contribute to the team’s overall success.

Max Verstappen scores major Championship points in most races, which is why he’s the current World Champion Driver. However, for Red Bull to win the Constructor’s Championship, It needs two drivers who perform consistently and win significant points in most races.

Liam Lawson in a Red Bull race car. — Liam Lawson in a Red Bull race car. F1

Bruce Brown Contributing Editor As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce… Read Full Bio

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