When Red Bull will confirm decision on Liam Lawson’s F1 future - all you need to know

A lot has been written and said after Liam Lawson’s dismal performance at the Chinese Grand Prix, so it is important to separate what is speculation and what Red Bull have confirmed about his Formula 1 future.

Lawson’s campaign got off to a miserable start with a DNF in Australia, and he failed to secure any points during the sprint race and grand prix in China. The 23-year-old has also failed to get out of Q1 in every single qualifying session he has competed in thus far in 2025.

Speculation ran wild on Tuesday after Dutch media reported that Lawson had already been axed by the team, with Yuki Tsunoda expected to replace him for the Japanese star's home race at Suzuka in the first weekend of May.

The likes of Ralf Schumacher have also suggested that Lawson will be axed from Red Bull and replaced by Tsunoda as early as the Japanese Grand Prix, claims which have not been officially confirmed by the Red Bull team and remain speculative.

After the Chinese GP, team principal Christian Horner acknowledged that Lawson has had a ‘tough’ couple of races, and revealed the team will do their best to support him, but did not confirm whether he would be racing for the team at Suzuka.

Who could replace Lawson at Red Bull?

If Lawson is replaced Tsunoda has emerged as the favourite to receive the Red Bull promotion, with figures such as McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, claiming he was overlooked for the promotion in the first place following the exit of Sergio Perez.

The Japanese driver has fended off team-mates such as Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo during his F1 career, and has started the 2025 season off strong with consecutive Q3 appearances - which should have translated to points in China if Racing Bulls had not committed to a two-stop strategy.

However if Tsunoda is promoted, the seat at Racing Bulls alongside Isack Hadjar will become vacant, and according to a reports from the Spanish media Lawson may not return to the junior team, although this does appear to be the likely outcome.

Instead in Spain they report that Racing Bulls will bring in Alpine reserve driver Franco Colapinto, after Red Bull chief Helmut Marko was spotted in the French team's hospitality unit in Shanghai.

Fans are also eager for axed Red Bull star Ricciardo to make a return to the top team, but the Australian driver confirmed in 2024 that he was ‘done’ with F1 after he was asked about a drive with Cadillac. However, could a return to the top team be enough to tempt him back?

It is understood that a decision would be officially confirmed this week by Horner and Red Bull bosses following a meeting Dubai, where the Thai major shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya lives, with engine manufacturers Honda also stakeholders in a decision.

In addition, there will also be a meeting a meeting at the team’s HQ in Milton Keynes to regroup and figure out how to move forward with their temperamental RB21, with Max Verstappen also expected to attend.

Horner has neither confirmed nor denied that they will replace Lawson, nor has he revealed a candidate for Red Bull's second seat should they make the difficult decision ahead of the Japanese GP.

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