Red Bull is set to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda from the 2025 Japanese GP onward as they look for a change in fortunes just two races into the season. Lawson will make a step down to sister-team Racing Bulls.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit has not officially announced the move, but with reputed media outlets reporting that it is imminent, there is a buzz in the F1 community. Red Bull is a team that does not shy away from making mid-season driver swaps, but doing so this early in the season comes as a surprise.
However, Tsunoda‘s move to Red Bull feels more like a delayed decision rather than something that came out of thin air. Many experts felt he was the better choice in the first place and wanted him in the Red Bull seat from the start.
Honda, who pays $10.7 million per year for Tsunoda’s seat, was prepared to offer up to $21.5 million to Red Bull to make it happen. The offer was waved initially. But now, it looks set to materialize.
Dutch newspaper De Limburger reported earlier today (Wednesday) that Red Bull itself approached the Honda bosses to inquire about Tsunoda’s promotion. ‘Red Bull’s top brass contacted Honda in recent days, openly asking how much they would be willing to pay to see Tsunoda alongside Verstappen for the rest of the championship,’ the report read.
Honda would be willing to dish out millions, it added.
F1 is a brutal sport
Liam Lawson ❌
Yuki Tsunoda ✅ pic.twitter.com/ZKbtmisl6A— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 26, 2025
It’s not yet clear whether Tsunoda will fill in just for a few races or sign a full-time contract with Red Bull. The amount of money Honda ends up paying the Austrian outfit could depend on that.
For Tsunoda, it is a huge moment in his F1 career. He’s been fighting for that Red Bull seat for years. Now, in his home race, he can finally make his debut and show team principal Christian Horner that they were wrong to omit him in the first place. Lawson, meanwhile, finds himself in an awkward position.
Yuki Tsunoda debut as a Red Bull driver at his home race !!
— deni (@fiagirly) March 25, 2025
The Kiwi sounded confident about his chances of succeeding at Red Bull and even recently boasted about ‘beating Tsunoda’ in junior categories. However, his performances in the RB21 were poor—he ranked in the bottom five for both race pace and qualifying in the opening two rounds—prompting Horner to pull the plug earlier than ever before.
Tsunoda has Honda to thank
Honda is one of the reasons Tsunoda made it to F1. The talent was always there, but as is often the case in F1, without financial backing, even the fairest decision-makers can be difficult to convince.
So when it was revealed that Honda would leave Red Bull and join Aston Martin in 2025, reports suggested that Tsunoda’s time with the team could come to an end and that he would have to fight hard to secure a seat at Aston Martin.
But Honda did not forget Tsunoda, and are still vying to see the Japanese driver as Max Verstappen’s teammate.
Recently, most of the Dutchman’s teammates—such as Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, and Lawson—have all failed to match him or even come close. But Tsunoda now has the opportunity to prove he is the cream of the crop. If he can consistently get within three-tenths of Verstappen, he may no longer have to rely on Honda for a seat.
Red Bull could make his stay permanent, or other teams could pursue him without needing to negotiate with Honda. Exciting but testing times ahead for the 24-year-old.
