Red Bull have decided to demote Liam Lawson back to their sister team, Racing Bulls, after only two races with them. The official press statement made by the Milton Keynes-based outfit suggested that the decision had been taken to protect the Kiwi racing ace from any further undue pressure.
However, former F1 TV presenter Will Buxton believes that those words are simply insincere, even suggesting that it seems like it was an intentional attempt at “gaslighting”.
“I think the ‘duty of care’ line is laughable and it’s almost gaslighting,” he began on the Fast and Curious podcast. Buxton believes that the decision to axe the #30 driver in favor of Yuki Tsunoda was actually a concerted effort to save the futures of both Christian Horner and Helmut Marko after Red Bull’s disastrous start to the season.
️ “It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and as a result we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch.”
More from Christian on today’s announcement
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 27, 2025
“We’re doing this for Liam’s own good, you’re not. You’re doing it for your own good. The only duty of care that’s being held there is towards Christian and Helmut’s position leading that team,” Buxton added.
The Briton then went on to highlight how Red Bull’s unfair treatment of Lawson wasn’t a recent trend. Rather, he can trace it all the way back to the 2023 season.
How Lawson was snubbed by Red Bull on multiple occasions
Lawson has been overlooked since 2023. The New Zealander was all set to get the seat at AlphaTauri (now RB) that year, but following a sensational one-off performance for Williams at the 2022 Italian GP by Nyck de Vries, Red Bull ignored Lawson’s potential and gave the seat to the Dutchman instead.
Once that backfired and the team axed De Vries mid-season, Lawson was looked over once more for a promotion to F1. Daniel Ricciardo was drafted into the second seat at RB, and it was only when he injured himself at the 2023 Dutch GP that Lawson got the call-up.
And despite impressing the paddock with his cameo performances, Lawson was ousted once again when Ricciardo recovered. It was only last season when Lawson was given a permanent seat after Ricciardo failed to meet expectations and was sacked after the Singapore GP weekend.
Buxton, too, believes it was unfair for Lawson to have been snubbed so often. “It’s ironic because, you know, Liam was probably the best candidate for the VCARB seat, whatever we were calling it at the time, in 2023,” he suggested.
Now with Lawson back at RB, one can only hope that the experiences with Red Bull haven’t scarred the #30 driver beyond salvation. Coming back to a familiar team might be the rejuvenation the Kiwi racing ace needs after all.
