Max Verstappen ‘not happy’ with Red Bull’s early season driver swap

It has taken just two races of the 2025 Formula One season for there to be major drama within the drivers’ paddock. Red Bull Racing, one of the sport’s ‘Big Four’ teams, have demoted young driver Liam Lawson to their junior team Racing Bulls in favour of the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda, who many had expected to be given the senior seat instead of Lawson going into this season.

The move comes after an incredibly poor start from Lawson to his 2025 campaign, scoring zero points and qualifying 18th, 20th and 20th again across the first two race weekends. Max Verstappen, who sits second in the Drivers’ Championship, has nonetheless criticised the decision to remove his teammate from the second seat.

Many drivers across the F1 paddock have expressed sympathy with Lawson

When Lawson’s appointment to the senior Red Bull team was confirmed in December 2024, many questioned his selection over Tsunoda, who had consistently outperformed his teammates as part of Racing Bulls. At the time, Red Bull cited Lawson’s raw potential and ‘ability to handle pressure’ as reasons for promotion, but team boss Helmut Marko now views this decision as a mistake, noting Tsunoda’s ‘experience and form’ as characteristics more suited to driving a challenging car.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has described this decision as a ‘purely sporting’ change, while also suggesting that demoting Lawson would protect him and aid his development in light of his recent loss of confidence.

Many drivers across the F1 paddock have expressed sympathy with Lawson, viewing his removal as an unfair decision. The RB21 appears especially difficult to drive, lacking the pace of previous Red Bull cars, and Lawson was only given two races to prove he could handle it. Helmut Marko himself admitted that the car’s poor performance was likely a huge factor in Lawson’s struggles, but seemed confident that this driver change was necessary and would benefit the team in the long run.

Four-time World Champion Max Verstappen has held grievances with Red Bull’s management before

Four-time World Champion Max Verstappen has held grievances with Red Bull’s management before, with his father and honorary spokesperson Jos Verstappen publicly criticising team principal Christian Horner throughout the 2024 season. This sudden driver swap between Max’s teammates appears to have upset the Dutch driver again, as he publicly liked an Instagram post calling Red Bull’s decision ‘closer to bullying or a panic’.

In an interview with Dutch paper De Telegraaf, Helmut Marko admitted Max was ‘not happy’ with the decision but was confident that the decision is ‘in Max’s favour’ as the Dutchman sets his sights on a record-equalling 5th consecutive driver’s championship.

After finishing 12th in his first race for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda is yet to prove that he can challenge for podiums in his new environment. The 24 year old has long been a fan favourite to enter the senior team, with many believing his chance to drive an elite car is well merited. However, the second Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen has been a ‘poisoned chalice’ for the Dutchman’s former teammates, so success for the young Japanese driver is far from guaranteed. Will Red Bull’s struggle to provide two frontrunning cars continue, or can Tsunoda show he was the answer all along?