Red Bull decision of replacing Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda after just two races has made some fans question the team's decision.
As reported by BBC, the Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko shared the reason behind the replacement on Radio 5 Live Breakfast, "His performance was unfortunately not good enough and that comes from self-confidence."
Lawson qualified 18th at the Australian Grand Prix and crashed out of the race, and in China, he finished 14th and 12th in sprint and the grand prix.
Meanwhile, the New Zealander's teammate Max Verstappen was second in Melbourne and fourth in Chinese Grand Prix.
On Thursday, March 27, 2025, after the decision of the swap was finalised, Liam turned to his Instagram with a carousal of clicks from a childhood picture to the most recent drives as a Red Bull driver.
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In the social media post, the 23-year-old penned, "Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it's what I've worked towards my whole life."
While expressing his gratitude, Liam noted, "I'm grateful for everything that's brought me to this point. To every one of you who's stood by me, thankyou for all the support. It means the world."
He concluded the post as he mentioned his new team Racing Bulls, "Thank you @visacashapprb for the warm welcome, I'm excited and ready to go to work at one of my favourite places (Japan's flag)."
Marko also admitted that Yuki will be given till the "end of the season" at Red Bull to prove himself.
When asked, why the team choose the Japanese driver now, when they went with Liam at the start of the season, the 81-year-old shared that in surprising turn of events, Yuki has gained quite confidence in his fifth year as a F1 driver and the Red Bull car will help his strategy.
The former Australian driver also revealed that Max is not happy about the sudden change "but we need two cars at the front. Not only for the constructors' championship, but also to help Max get his fifth world title."
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Notably, the drivers will be seen on the track on April 6, 2025 for Japanese Grand Prix, where Yuki will be driving for Red Bull at his home ground while Liam will be wearing Racing Bulls uniform.
