Yuki Tsunoda says Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told him to be prepared in case of a promotion before his seat swap with Liam Lawson was confirmed, Red Bull opted to replace Lawson after just two races of the 2025 season,

Red Bull's decision to swap Liam Lawson with its junior team driver Yuki Tsunoda has had no impact on the rookie driver.

The 24-year-old is a product of Honda’s young driver programme, but the Japanese manufacturer is starting a new partnership with Aston Martin for F1’s new technical era starting in 2026. However, Watanabe is adamant that Honda won’t influence Tsunoda’s future at Red Bull in any way.

Max Verstappen confirmed on Thursday he was unhappy with Red Bull’s ruthless driver swap for the Japanese Grand Prix, saying his endorsement of a social media post criticising the move “speaks for itself”.

Plenty of questions are to be answered after details emerged of Red Bulls driver swap for Suzuka: Why now? Why was Yuki Tsunoda not given the drive in the first place? And what will Max Verstappen make of the latest upheaval?

But Verstappen did indicate his position by admitting that his liking of an Instagram post by ex-F1 driver Giedo van der Garde, who wrote that Red Bull’s decision was “closer to bullying or a panic move,” was not a mistake or an accident. “I liked the text,” Verstappen said. “I guess that speaks for itself, right?”

Carlos Sainz offered a blunt assessment about Red Bull’s latest controversial in-season F1 driver swap. Liam Lawson has been sent back to sister squad Racing Bulls after making a terrible start to his Red Bull career, with Yuki Tsunoda moving in the opposite direction to earn promotions to the senior team.

Helmut Marko has revealed that Red Bull's driver swap was partly motivated by a crucial need to save Max Verstappen's future with the team.