Red Bull F1 star tipped for SHOCK demotion

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Red Bull star tipped for SHOCK F1 demotion

Liam Lawson could be set for a demotion

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 12 May 2025 09:43 Updated: 11:20

A former Formula 1 race winner has said that Liam Lawson could be set to face a further demotion in the Red Bull ranks.

Lawson was replaced at Red Bull after just two races of the 2025 season, with the team instead opting to promote Yuki Tsunoda from their sister Racing Bulls team to partner Max Verstappen.

It meant that Lawson started driving for the Racing Bulls team once more, but is still yet to score a point despite rookie team-mate Isack Hadjar having racked up five in the same machinery.

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On top of this, Tsunoda's performances have been more consistent at Red Bull than Lawson's were, and the Japanese racer has started to pick up points with his new team.

Now, seven-time grand prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya has hinted that Red Bull may be looking to further demote Lawson, and instead bring in 17-year-old Red Bull youngster Arvid Lindblad.

"If Liam doesn’t improve quickly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they bring in Arvid Lindblad at some point," Montoya told Spanish AS. "Not at all, I wouldn’t be surprised."

"The situation at Red Bull was complicated, I think it was a big blow, and he needed a lot of psychological help afterwards.

"If Lawson doesn't recover quickly, I'm sure Red Bull will look elsewhere. That's just how they work."

Who is Arvid Lindblad?

Another product of Red Bull's fruitful driver development programme, Lindblad, a British-Swedish racer, has benefitted in the recent shuffles in the order at Red Bull, being promoted to F2 for 2025.

The 17-year-old finished fourth in F3 last season, taking four wins and a further podium, making history at the 2024 British GP by being the first F3 driver to sweep a race weekend by winning both the sprint and feature races.

In F2 this year, he has already managed to claim his first win in the series, and has earned enough points on his superlicence to be able to compete in F1, if special exemptions are given due to his tender age.

23-year-old Lawson knows how it feels to be the hottest young prospect on Red Bull's books, but now must try to recapture his form and propel Racing Bulls up the constructors' championship table, if he wants to remain in F1 full-time.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen Yuki Tsunoda Liam Lawson Isack Hadjar Arvid Lindblad