Red Bull officially announced Liam Lawson’s sacking earlier today, bringing an end to his stint with the team after just two races. Fellow Kiwi and IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin, like many in the motorsports community, didn’t like the way Lawson was removed and predicted a similar fate for his successor, Yuki Tsunoda.
Red Bull making harsh calls and sacking their drivers mid-season isn’t new. Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries, and Daniel Ricciardo are some of the drivers who have experienced this before. But removing a full-time rookie after just two races was arguably a step too far.
McLaughlin feels Lawson did not get a fair shot. And he has a point. “2 tracks they gave Liam in that car, that he hadn’t been to before. Finally heads to Suzuka, where perhaps he knows that track more than most on the calendar due to racing in Japan, etc. But gets axed before it,” the IndyCar driver wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The 31-year-old would have likely accepted Lawson’s sacking had he struggled at the Japanese GP as well. However, McLaughlin found himself echoing the same question many have been asking in the hours since the decision was made.
“But give the kid a chance if you are going to throw him in the deep end against a 4x world champ to begin with, why even give him the shot in the first place if you aren’t going to ride the wave?” he asked.
Here’s a take that you didn’t ask for. 2 tracks they gave Liam in that car, that he hadn’t been to before. Finally heads to Suzuka, where perhaps he knows that track more than most on the calendar due to racing in Japan etc. But get’s axed before it. It’s a cruel sport, but I…
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin93) March 27, 2025
McLaughlin then went on to talk about Tsunoda. The Japanese driver insisted that he’s ready to drive for Red Bull and be Max Verstappen’s teammate. But McLaughlin is sure that he will be a victim of the same poor decision-making that cost Lawson.
“Nothing against Yuki and I think he’s a shoe,” he said. “But the Red Bull game is ruthless/irrational. I look forward to the next instalment of this broken system.”
McLaughlin isn’t the only person who feels that Tsunoda is now in danger. At RB, the Japanese driver was the underdog—a talented star fighting for points and showing Red Bull he’s ready for the next step. But as Verstappen’s teammate, the spotlight will be on him. And failure to perform could derail his career as well.
Ex-F1 TV journalist Will Buxton wrote, “Good luck Yuki. You’re gonna need it,” in an X post earlier today, warning the 24-year-old that tough times lie ahead. Buxton also berated Red Bull for publicly claiming that they would support their drivers, only to throw Lawson under the bus so early on in his career.
Even Max Verstappen didn’t seem happy about the decision, as he liked an Instagram post from Giedo van der Garde, which criticized Red Bull.
