F1 Fraternity Reacts as Max Verstappen Shows His Dissent Against Red Bull Over Liam Lawson Sacking

Red Bull officially announced that Liam Lawson would be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda from the Japanese GP onwards, bringing the Kiwi’s time at the team to an end after just two race weekends. The fact that Lawson did not get enough time, however, didn’t sit well with many, including Max Verstappen.

Lawson made 11 appearances for Red Bull’s sister team RB (formerly AlphaTauri) across 2023 and 2024, and they were deemed good enough for a promotion coming into the current campaign. Sadly, Lawson looked completely out of his rhythm in the RB21. And Red Bull—who don’t want a string of poor early results affecting their Constructors’ title chances—decided to cut the cord early.

Among those unhappy about the decision is Giedo van der Garde, a Dutch former F1 driver. On his Instagram, van der Garde tore Red Bull apart for hyping Lawson up for months, only to shatter his confidence over a couple of races. He wrote, “They made a decision – fully aware – gave Liam two races only to crush his spirit. Don’t forget the dedication, hard work and success Liam has put in his career so far to achieve the level where he is now.” 

And Verstappen, who would normally be the last person to call out Red Bull publicly, seemed to agree with his compatriot.

The four-time world champion appeared to have liked van der Garde’s post, suggesting that he agrees with the fact that it was a harsh sacking. Fans, upon seeing this, took to social media to discuss theories of an internal meltdown at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

“The post Max liked… pretty much confirming Max didn’t agree with the switch. The Red Bull drama is drama-ing,” a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter)

ESPN’s Nate Saunders also found it fascinating that Verstappen liked a post that accused Red Bull of ‘bullying’ a driver. “Going to be fascinating to hear from Max next week pre-Suzuka,” he said.

A bunch of fans also labeled Red Bull’s overall driver management a mess, which is a credible claim because of the way they’ve sacked drivers ruthlessly in the past, including the likes of Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Daniel Ricciardo. “Yeah Red Bull is plain sh*t at driver management and Max Verstappen agrees.” 

What Verstappen’s recent social media activity suggests is that he has no say in who the second driver at Red Bull will be—something he was previously accused of influencing. He was reportedly content with having Sergio Perez as his deputy and even asked Red Bull to keep him despite his underperformance—until they could no longer justify it.

But that likely isn’t true. Verstappen’s liking of van der Garde’s message is a clear sign that he was in favor of Lawson getting more time to adjust and that Red Bull doesn’t consult with him before making changes.

What this means for Lawson and Tsunoda

Lawson has simply been handed a demotion. RB confirmed that the New Zealander would be driving for them from Suzuka onwards, which shows that the Austrian team has not fully lost faith in him.

“We have the duty of care to protect and develop Liam, and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience, as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls,” team principal Christian Horner said today (Thursday).

Tsunoda, meanwhile, has been given the biggest opportunity of his career so far. At his home Grand Prix, he will drive a car capable of challenging for the top three, making for exciting times ahead for the Japanese driver.

That said, he must be wary of underperforming like Lawson. If he does, Red Bull will not hesitate to pull the plug again — they can be quite ruthless in this regard.