Racers understand that Red Bull is preparing to change drivers after Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, with seats swapped and just two races in the new Formula One season.
Lawson’s seat with Red Bull was questioned over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend after being last qualified in both the sprint and the main race itself, and in either case he made no major advances. As reported Monday, Red Bull then discussed addressing the issue on the earliest opportunity possible and chose to make an immediate change.
While no official confirmations have been provided from the team yet, the racers understand that Tsunoda was on the Red Bull Simulator on Tuesday, and that the team plans to promote him to Max Verstappen’s partner ahead of the home race at Suzuka next weekend. While they feel they need to change soon, Red Bull is expected to return to the Racing Bulls and keep Lawson on the grid. The New Zealander drove at the end of last season.
Speculation that Franco Colapinto could be in the mix for the Racing Bulls seat amidst a broad range of movements. However, Argentina, currently on loan to Alpine from Williams, is believed to be on the radar if they need to explore more options later this year.
The expected promotion for Tsunoda comes after reaching the third quarter in all three qualifying sessions so far this season, taking fifth place on the Australian grid and then sixth in the Chinese sprint. The 24-year-old has just entered his fifth F1 season with Red Bull’s junior team, starting 89 and earning a four-finish finish in Abu Dhabi in his rookie season.
The decision to replace the driver after two races means that Red Bull has done this kind of move. Previously, he waited four races in the 2014 season before replacing Danil Kviat with Verstappen, and Verstappen won his Red Bull debut at the Spanish Grand Prix.