Liam Lawson facing axe just TWO races into F1 season as ruthless Red Bull eye rival driver to become Verstappen’s No2
LIAM LAWSON is reportedly facing the axe by ruthless Red Bull after his nightmare start to the season continued at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old has endured a disastrous start after being promoted to Red Bull from sister outfit VCARB, now Racing Bulls, to replace Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen‘s team-mate for this season.
Lawson crashed out of the Formula One season opener in Australia before finishing P14 in the Chinese GP Sprint and qualifying dead last at the Shanghai circuit.
His weekend did not improve much as he finished P15 in the feature race, moving up one spot after the finish line after jumping Jack Doohan who had a 10-second time penalty for pushing Isack Hadjar off track.
Lawson admitted on Saturday he “does not have time” to get to grips with the car and needed to improve.
However, according to Motorsport he may not be given that chance with the outlet suggesting team bosses are considering swapping Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Paddock sources indicated no final decision has been made ahead of the Suzuka race in two weeks time, but the possibility of a driver swap is likely.
Tsunoda, 24, had an impressive season in 2024 and was the favourite to land the Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen before Lawson was handed the reigns.
The Japanese driver impressed in Australia before a bad strategy call scuppered his chances of points at the season opener.
He bounced back to score points with a P6 at China Sprint before finishing P19 today after being forced to pit following a front wing break.
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Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Red Bull chief Christian Horner said of Lawson: “Well look, F1 is pressure business, there is always time pressure.
“He knows that. Hopefully he’ll respond. We will see where we go.”
Lawson also faced further embarrassment today when Haas rookie Ollie Bearman overtook him and said “ciao” over the team radio before the teen raced to a P10 finish.
The next race takes place on April 6 to kick off the first triple-header of the season with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia following in consecutive weeks.
McLaren‘s one-two finish today, with Oscar Piastri winning the third race of his F1 career, put them firmly in the lead of the Constructors’ Championship.
Lando Norris leads the Drivers’ Championship by eight points ahead of Verstappen, who said he would only win the Chinese GP race if all the other cars in front of him retired.