Lawson admits Red Bull demotion a shock: ‘I didn’t see it coming’

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Liam Lawson has opened up about his unexpected demotion from Red Bull Racing to its sister team, Racing Bulls, after just two Grand Prix in the 2025 F1 season, admitting he was blindsided by the decision.

The Aussie has now relinquished his seat to Yuki Tsunoda in a straight-forward swap between the two teams, with the two drivers embarking on new paths from this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

For Lawson, the sudden shift was a bitter pill to swallow, especially after a promising rise that had landed him in Milton Keynes. In an interview with Sky Sports, Lawson opened up about the jarring setback, his struggles with the RB21, and his resolve to claw his way back.

"It was definitely a shock, honestly,” Lawson admitted. “It's not something that I saw coming."

The decision came after a torrid start to his Red Bull tenure. In Melbourne, he grappled with a rocky practice and a lackluster race weekend, followed by a dismal showing in Shanghai, where he qualified dead last – 20th – not once, but twice, during the sprint weekend.

Red Bull’s patience, it seemed, had run thin. Tsunoda was swiftly promoted, leaving Lawson to pick up the pieces with Racing Bulls.

A Missed Opportunity

Lawson’s stint at Red Bull had been brief but bruising. The RB21, a car even reigning champion Max Verstappen found difficult to tame, proved a formidable challenge for the newcomer.

“The car is hard to drive,” Lawson insisted. “But we were going through a process of making that adjustment.” His limited time behind the wheel exacerbated the struggle.

“In a pre-season test you drive all day and have time to adjust. A lack of time in the car is what made it hard to adjust,” he explained.

“It felt like every time I went out, I was adjusting or getting used to something unknown.”

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The early races hadn’t been kind – Melbourne was a chaotic baptism, and China’s sprint format left little room to find his footing.

“It was a tough start. We had rocky testing. We had a rocky first weekend in Melbourne with practice. And then obviously China was a sprint,” he recounted.

Reflecting on his fleeting chance, Lawson couldn’t hide his frustration.

“Obviously I would have loved more time,” he said. “And I felt like with more time… especially going to places that I'd been before… I think that would have helped.

“I would have loved that opportunity. But obviously it's not my decision, so I'm here to make the most of this one."

Lawson also revealed that behind closed doors, the signals had been murky.

“The discussions we were having as well, I think, weren’t really leaning in this direction,” he said. “So it was definitely not something that I expected.”

The rug had been pulled out from under him, and the sense of unfinished business lingered.

Red Bull’s Ruthless Calculus

Red Bull’s driver shake-up wasn’t an isolated event. With Sergio Perez also axed in recent memory, and Verstappen vocal about the RB21’s shortcomings, the team’s cutthroat approach was on full display.

While Lawson’s demotion raised eyebrows, he refused to point fingers.

“They felt that I wasn’t ready for it, they make the decision, and it’s their opinion,” he noted.

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From his perspective, the verdict was premature. From my side? I was ready but I didn’t have enough time,” he countered. “It’s not so much a driving style, it’s literally just adjusting. I didn’t have time to do that.”

The car’s trickiness wasn’t unique to Lawson – Verstappen’s frustration has been on display since Melbourne as Red Bull struggled to keep pace with a resurgent McLaren.

For Lawson, the lack of runway to adapt was the crux of his undoing. Yet, amid the disappointment, he saw a sliver of hope.

A Path Back to the Top

Now back at Racing Bulls, Lawson isn’t resigned to defeat. He believes the door to Red Bull remains ajar—if he can prove his mettle.

“Yes, definitely,” he said when asked if a return was possible. “It was part of the conversation, part of how they let me know about the switch.”

The team’s message was clear: impress, and the seat could be his again.

“Either way, we all want the same thing. We want to win,” he emphasized. “If that pathway leads me back to Red Bull, that’s great for the team and for myself.”