Red Bull’s Driver Controversy: A Look into the Second Seat

The second seat alongside Max Verstappen in Formula 1 is notoriously challenging, but speculation about a driver change after just two races is unprecedented, even by Red Bull standards. Liam Lawson, who began his full-time Red Bull campaign with optimism, has found himself struggling more than expected.

Liam Lawson’s Struggles in the First Two Races

The New Zealand driver has finished 18th, 20th and 20th in his three qualifying appearances – placing him last on the grid two consecutive times, a feat no Red Bull driver has ever achieved before. His race results – DNF, 14th and 12th – don’t look much better, with the 12th place in China boosted by three post-race disqualifications.

Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, paddock sources suggested a driver change before Japan was not out of the question. Horner didn’t dismiss that possibility after the race either, saying the team would review all the data: “We have data from the first two races and we’ll look carefully at that. We have 400 engineers in the team and 600 sensors on the car, so we have a huge amount of information to go through.”

Red Bull’s Potential Response to Lawson’s Struggles

If the data suggests Lawson is unlikely to improve in the short term, Red Bull may feel compelled to act. “I think Liam still has got potential. We’re just not realising that at the moment. I think the problem for him is he’s had a couple of really tough weekends. He’s got all the media on his back and the pressure naturally grows in this business. I feel very sorry for him. You can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.”

Internally, Red Bull’s main dilemma is balancing the hard data with the human side – and whether it’s fair to make a change after giving Lawson a chance for just two races.

Tsunoda in the Spotlight – But Promotion Before Japan a Major Risk?

If Red Bull does make a switch, Yuki Tsunoda is the obvious candidate to step up. The Japanese driver wasn’t promoted over the winter, but Helmut Marko offered notable praise in China, implying that his opinion on Tsunoda has changed.

The Future of Racing Bulls and Lawson’s Seat

This leaves room for interpretation. Protecting Lawson could mean keeping him at Red Bull for some more races, giving him the comfort of an easier car at Racing Bulls, or temporarily benching him as Red Bull’s reserve driver. The last option would be particularly harsh given how long Lawson had to wait for his F1 debut, but is fuelled by Spanish media reports linking Franco Colapinto to .

Neither the Red Bull seat next to Verstappen nor the Racing Bulls situation has been decided yet, and given the different interests and parties involved, it’s too complex to predict now. But one thing is clear: the next few weeks are crucially important for the Milton Keynes-based team. Verstappen will visit the Red Bull factory this week to discuss the RB21’s weaknesses and push for improvements to save his championship hunt. At the same time, the team needs to make decisions on the driver front much earlier than anticipated. These are season-defining weeks already, at least if Red Bull doesn’t want to fall behind in both championships.