Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has addressed the speculation surrounding Liam Lawson’s future that he could be replaced before the next round of Formula 1 racing at the Japanese Grand Prix, Afrosport reports.
The New Zealander replaced Sergio Perez at the end of the 2024 and has struggled so far in the new season, failing to score points in the opening two races in Australia and China with a DNF and 12th place finish respectively.
It has led to suggestions that Red Bull could replace Lawson for the next race in Suzuka, with Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda taking his place but Horner was not definitive when asked, rather asserting Red Bull needs to help him get the best out of the car.
“I think Liam’s had a tough couple of races, a tough weekend here,” he said.
“We elected to take him off the grid, out of Parce Ferme, to do a significant set-up change, so we managed to get 56 laps of reasonable data from that. Obviously, we’ll take that away, we’ll have a good look at it, and as a group we’ll do our best to support him.”
Horner added: “There’s always going to be speculation in the paddock. As I say, we’ve only just finished the race here, we’ll take away the info and have a good look at it.
“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 and he’s got all the media on his back.
“The pressure just naturally grows in this business. I feel very sorry for him that he’s… you can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.
“He’s a young guy, we’ve got a duty to look after him. We’re going to do the best that we can to support him. Liam’s still a very capable driver, we know that, we’re just not… for whatever reason, we’re not seeing him able to deliver that at the moment.”
“We know where we need to improve, but we have kept it close with the top competitors in these first two fly aways, and we’ll look to do more with Japan up next.”#F1 || #ChineseGP
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— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 24, 2025
Away from Lawson’s struggles, reigning world champion Max Verstappen has fared better for Red Bull, finishing second in Australia and fourth in China to sit eight points behind current leader Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship.
