Liam Lawson’s woeful start to his Red Bull career continued in Shanghai with a P16 finish putting him under danger of losing his place just two races into the 2025 campaign.
Lawson finished out of the points in Australia last weekend, and was P20 in qualifying heading into today’s race. Because Red Bull changed the suspension on his car, he started from the pitlane in hopes of making a recovery drive. But he could only make up four places by the end.
The pressure on the 23-year-old is mounting. And amid this, the ever-so controversial Helmut Marko has namedropped Yuki Tsunoda as a potential replacement. According to reports, the Japanese driver could fill in for Lawson at Red Bull as early as his home race in a fortnight.
“Yuki is a different Yuki than in recent years. He is in the form of his life,” Makro said per Motorsport Total. “He changed his management, pursued a new approach, became more mature. It took a while, but now it seems to work.”
I don’t think people understand how great Tsunoda is this season
Best of the rest in quali twice in 3 sessions and should’ve been best of the rest at every single race if given correct strategies
Would’ve been P5-P6-P7, 19 points and 5th in the championship
— Lesphotosdivan (@taP1nen) March 23, 2025
Tsunoda’s start to the year has been blistering. Although he hasn’t scored points yet — which can largely be blamed on the RB strategists — his pace in qualifying has been blistering. He made it into Q3 in back to back weekends, and has looked more threatening than Lawson.
Red Bull is now expected to take the one-week break to evaluate Lawson’s future, with a decision expected to be made before the Japanese GP.
Marko’s changed opinion on Tsunoda
Marko doesn’t shy away from making bold claims. Last year, when Tsunoda was snubbed in favor of Lawson, much of the F1 community—including figures like McLaren CEO Zak Brown—felt Red Bull had made the wrong call.
But Marko was adamant that Lawson was the better driver. In fact, he even rated Isack Hadjar over Tsunoda, considering him a potential replacement if Red Bull decided to part ways with Lawson.
Yuki Tsunoda was asked whether he would agree to swap places with Lawson in Suzuka. He replied: “Japan? Yeah, 100%. The Red Bull car is faster.” pic.twitter.com/2ve548MvMp
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) March 23, 2025
However, the 82-year-old’s latest comments suggest that Tsunoda has now become his top choice. So even if Lawson holds on to his seat for Suzuka, failing to show significant improvement could see Tsunoda take his place later this season.
