Lawson speaks out on shock demotion as support floods in

Liam Lawson has opened up about his shock demotion following the Chinese Grand Prix, revealing he had little time to process the news before quickly shifting focus to RB, while support from fellow drivers continues to pour in during the challenging period.

Consuming the world of Formula 1 in the days that followed a less-than-average Chinese Grand Prix outing for the second Red Bull driver, Liam Lawson’s swap with Yuki Tsunoda has been the controversy on everyone’s lips heading into what is shockingly only the third round of the season.

“I had no idea in China. It was something that was decided, I guess, the Monday or Tuesday afterwards,” Lawson revealed.

The quick turnaround between the chequered flag in Shanghai and the confirmation of Lawson’s demotion going public left the Kiwi “surprised”, with Lawson hoping a clean weekend around a familiar track would help him find his rhythm in the RB21.

Instead, the week off between races saw Kiwi left with little time to dwell over his new-found demotion as he sprung into action with preparations, seat fits and simulator runs at the VCARB factory in Faenza before flying to Japan.

“The decision obviously was made, and when I was told, although it was tough to hear, I had one or two days to sort of think about it,” he said.

“Then I was in Faenza with VCARB, starting preparations and seat fits, and then you’re basically just focused on the job. 

“As I said, I have the opportunity to still be in Formula 1 and still racing, and that is the main thing for me. 

“With this opportunity, I’m excited to be here. It’s been a strong start to the season for this team, for VCARB so I guess it’s exciting for me now to come in here in this position.”

The Kiwi impressed during his six-race stint with the team in 2024, a period which earned Lawson a seat at the top team, however, under the current circumstances, it now serves mainly to make his adjustment this time around easier.

Scenes in the Suzuka paddock left no doubt about Lawson’s warm reception within the team, with RB Team Principal Laurent Mekies among many celebrating his return—marked by a heartfelt message on his pit board on Thursday.

“I think confidence-wise it doesn’t change a lot, we all have enough self-belief to be here and to make it to Formula 1 — if you don’t have that self-belief, it makes it very difficult,” Lawson said.

“So I think we all have that naturally — it doesn’t really change how I feel about myself, I think what it’s doing for me… obviously, the best opportunity I had felt like it was with Red Bull Racing. 

“That’s where we’re all working towards. That’s what I was working towards since joining the junior programme as a 16-year-old so obviously, I would have liked to make that opportunity work and that’s in my best interest. 

“But obviously, Christian [Horner] and the team will have their opinions on what’s best, and that’s up to them to decide.”

On changing Horner’s mind, Lawson remains hopeful that a return to Red Bull is still on the cards, however, he is aware of the fact that “whatever happens down the line is more or less out of my control”.

One member of the Red Bull team to have the #30’s back was his teammate, Max Verstappen, who was vocal about his preference to keep Lawson in the team for the foreseeable future.

Stamping his seal of approval on a social media post condemning the actions of the Red Bull higher-ups, Verstappen made it clear that his ‘like’ on Instagram was no mistake.

“I liked the comment, the text, so I guess that speaks for itself, right? It was not a mistake,” Verstappen said.

A rookie able to empathise with the pressure of being under the public microscope is Jack Doohan, who since his first race in Formula 1 has had to answer to plenty of rumours surrounding his potential Alpine replacement in Franco Colapinto.

“To be honest, it’s difficult to see and, you know, I feel for him but he’s still in Formula 1,” Doohan said. 

“I had rumours that I wasn’t even going to drive before I drove, so…”

“I think he’s an extremely talented driver, and for one reason or another, he had a very hard time and, again, only two races so it’s a shame but I think, to be honest, he’s going to be more of a threat at RB than he potentially was at Red Bull.”

Doohan added: “It’s a cutthroat sport, and especially in that situation — I don’t want to comment too much on it — but in a top team especially, this is Formula 1, it’s a business where they rely on performances and results.

“But, you know, he was in a very tricky situation and we know how tough that Red Bull is to drive.”

Last Round’s Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri also had the Kiwi’s back, sharing his words of support for Lawson on Thursday.

“I think, you know, what we’ve seen from Liam in the first two races is not a reflection of his talent, you know, I’ve raced Liam for a number of years and I think he’s an incredibly competitive driver,” Piastri said. 

“Yeah, I don’t think the results he showed in the first two rounds are indicative of what he’s capable of… and I’ll leave it there.”

Additional comments from his fellow competitors flooded in across Media Day in Suzuka, with support for the young driver as the overarching theme.

No stranger to the unfair treatment at Red Bull, Alex Albon backed the Kiwi to bounce back.

“If I was in his shoes, I would have a huge amount of determination and grit to prove how he can bounce back,” Albon said.

“I think that’s an amazing story he can tell.”

Lewis Hamilton added his two cents, saying he wasn’t “surprised to see it from [Red Bull]” and that “just to give him two races is pretty harsh”.

Kimi Antonelli, brought into the sport through the Mercedes Junior program, said “what’s really important in an academy is to get the right support”, crediting Mercedes for doing him justice.

Having had a mixed bag of results to start his full-time Formula 1 career, Ollie Bearman was just another driver to add to the conversation. 

“After two races I think it’s a bit of a quick decision and not one that I agree with,” the Haas rookie said.

“I think he’s a great driver and like the other rookies, he’s under a lot of pressure.”

In front of his home crowd, all eyes will be firmly locked in on Yuki Tsunoda who says he has been guaranteed the drive alongside Max Verstappen for the remainder of the 2025 season, while Lawson settles into more familiar territory this weekend.

On-track action at the Japanese Grand Prix will kick off with FP1 at 13:30 AEDT, followed by FP2 at 17:00 AEDT as the weekend returns to a conventional format for Round 3.

Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

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