Liam Lawson will partner Max Verstappen in Red Bull’s main Formula 1 team next season after being chosen ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.
Lawson steps into F1’s most formidable seat with just 11 grands prix appearances to his name, earned across two part-season stints at Red Bull’s second team in 2023 and 2024.
Verstappen has won the last four F1 titles, is Red Bull’s primary focus, and all four of his Red Bull Racing team-mates – Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez – have ultimately been forced to leave because they could not match him.
Perez’s exit was announced on Wednesday and although Red Bull declined to confirm Lawson immediately it has been known for a while that he was the favourite to take the seat despite his inexperience.
Red Bull has opted to pass over Tsunoda despite the Japanese driver having just completed his fourth and best season in F1 yet.
Tsunoda was the second most impressive Red Bull driver after Verstappen in 2024, finished 11th in the championship and was the only reason his RB team was anywhere near the fight for sixth in the constructors’ contest.
He outpaced Ricciardo, who was brought back into the Red Bull fold in 2023 to be a back-up should Perez start to struggle but couldn’t even beat Tsunoda.
When Lawson stepped in for his second F1 stint – having replaced an injured Ricciardo for five races in 2023 – he scored points twice but failed to outqualify Tsunoda at all.
Red Bull is undeterred by Lawson’s qualifying record as it recognises how fast Tsunoda is and is impressed by how close Lawson has managed to get despite his inexperience and the awkwardness of being dropped into F1 in-season.
It is also known to be impressed by his mental resilience and confidence, which Red Bull thinks will serve Lawson well against Verstappen.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said that Lawson’s cameos so far had “demonstrated that he’s not only capable of delivering strong results but that he’s also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top”.
“There’s no doubt that racing alongside Max, a four-time champion and undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers ever seen in F1, is a daunting task, but I’m sure Liam can rise to that challenge and deliver some outstanding results for us next year,” said Horner.
Horner says Lawson's promotion "follows in the footsteps of championship and race-winning drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen", although it's fair to say Lawson's record pre-F1 hasn't been in the same ballpark as Vettel/Verstappen with several race-winning, but not title-challenging seasons in F3 and F2.
Lawson has been a Red Bull junior for almost six years, finishing 11th and fifth in his two seasons in F3 and ninth and third across two years in F2.
At the same time, Red Bull never seemed collectively sold on Tsunoda as a valid candidate, despite his performance this year, and glowing reviews from his RB team this season and then Red Bull’s own senior figures after driving for the team in the post-Abu Dhabi test.
It leaves Tsunoda as an overqualified team leader for Racing Bulls, the latest identity for Red Bull’s second team in 2025, who will exist to be a benchmark for Lawson’s replacement, set to be Formula 2 runner-up Isack Hadjar.
Tsunoda, whose primary backer in his junior career was Honda rather than Red Bull, may finally be clear to look for other career options beyond next season though.
Honda is departing Red Bull at the end of 2025 to be Aston Martin’s works engine partner and Red Bull has now made it clear it does not consider Tsunoda part of its senior team’s plans even when he is arguably the most viable candidate.
Tsunoda was known to have courted interest from Haas and Audi bosses in the early part of 2024, so should have options beyond Red Bull – although most teams have their line-ups already set into the first year of new rules in 2026.