Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson at Red Bull from the Japanese Grand Prix, and the New Zealander will return to the Racing Bulls.

Ahead of the race, Red Bull confirmed the shocking news that former Racing Bulls driver Tsunoda would be promoted for his home race, replacing ex-teammate Liam Lawson after just two races. And Tsunoda has now admitted that he was forced to make a massive change ahead of the biggest move of his career.

Yuki Tsunoda has acknowledged the scale of the challenge facing him as he prepares to make his Red Bull debut at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix. Tsunoda has received a dream promotion into the second Red Bull seat following the team’s brutal decision to ditch Liam Lawson following his troubled two-race stay with the senior team.

New Red Bull driver Tsunoda tells The Japan Times he started to believe that a promotion to the senior team might never come — until it did.

Despite this success, he was overlooked by Christian Horner and Helmut Marko as a replacement for the struggling Sergio Perez, with Red Bull ’s leadership citing concerns regarding his temperament and consistency. However, after an immense start to the 2025 campaign, Tsunoda’s performances became impossible to ignore.

The saga surrounding Red Bull Racing and its drivers has dominated the Formula 1 news cycle, as the next chapter begins at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

The Red Bull Racing F1 team has parted ways with Liam Lawson after just two races for the 2025 season, making way for Racing Bulls' Yuki Tsunoda.

He has never finished on the podium in four full seasons in F1 but he has shown pace on both race weekends so far. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Yuki Tsunoda is hopeful he remains friends with Liam Lawson after replacing the Kiwi in the Red Bull seat just two races into the Formula One season. The Japanese driver was promo