Liam Lawson has revealed his demotion from Red Bull Racing after just two Formula 1 races came as a “shock”, Afrosport reports.
The New Zealander came into the Milton Keynes outfit from sister team Racing Bulls as a replacement for Sergio Perez.
Lawson however failed to impress in the opening two races of 2025 as he failed to score points and finished over a second behind reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
This prompted Red Bull to demote him back to Racing Bulls while Yuki Tsunoda was promoted.
“It was definitely a shock, honestly,” Lawson told Sky Sports F1. “It’s not something that I saw coming.
“The discussions we were having as well, I think, weren’t really leaning in this direction.
“So it was definitely not something that I expected.”
Lawson added: “Obviously I would have loved more time.
“And I felt like with more time… especially going to places that I’d been before…
“It was a tough start. We had rocky testing. We had a rocky first weekend in Melbourne with practice. And then obviously China was a sprint.
“I think going to places that I’d been before, with the way the car was quite tricky, I think that would have helped.
“I would have loved that opportunity. But obviously it’s not my decision, so I’m here to make the most of this one.”
Lawson went on to open up about the difficult of driving Red Bull’s 2025 challenger, the RB21, which Verstappen has equally complained about.
“The car is hard to drive,” Lawson stated. “But we were going through a process of making that adjustment.
“In a pre-season test you drive all day and have time to adjust. A lack of time in the car is what made it hard to adjust.
“It felt like every time I went out, I was adjusting or getting used to something unknown.
“It’s not so much a driving style, it’s literally just adjusting. I didn’t have time to do that.”
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Despite his demotion, Lawson says he can rejoin Red Bull again if the opportunity presents itself.
“Yes, definitely,” he said. “It was part of the conversation, part of how they let me know about the switch.
“They felt that I wasn’t ready for it, they make the decision, and it’s their opinion.
“From my side? I was ready but I didn’t have enough time.
“Either way, we all want the same thing. We want to win.
“If that pathway leads me back to Red Bull, that’s great for the team and for myself.”
Lawson will partner French rookie Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls for the rest of the 2025 F1 season.
