It's official: Tsunoda will replace Lawson in Japan.

      Red Bull Racing reacted in their own way to the difficulties faced by Liam Lawson at the beginning of the season and decided to castleboard: starting with the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen's team-mate will be Yuki Tsunoda. And the young New Zealand racer is returning to Racing Bulls.

      Christian Horner, team principal and CEO: "It was hard to look at Liam's difficulties at the wheel of the RB21 in the first two races, and in the end we made a joint decision to make this early replacement.

      We started the 2025 season with two ambitious goals: to retain the championship title and regain the Constructors' Cup, so the decision was made solely for sporting reasons.  

      We recognize that there is still a lot of work to be done with the RB21, and Yuki's experience will be very useful in the process of upgrading this machine. We are happy to invite him to join our team and look forward to seeing him get behind the wheel.

      We consider it our duty to take care of Liam, protect him and help him develop as a driver, so we believe that after such a difficult start to the season, it makes sense to take urgent measures so that he can gain experience. Therefore, he will continue his career with the Racing Bulls team, which he knows very well, and in an environment familiar to him."