‘Red Bull’s fault’: Kiwi F1 expert Bob McMurray says Liam Lawson given raw deal
Wednesday, 26 March 2025
New Zealander Liam Lawson is reported to have been dumped after just two races.
It is reported that he will be replaced by Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda in a straight swap, with Lawson heading back to the Red Bull junior team.
After failing to finish in the top 10 in Shanghai last weekend, Lawson said Tsunoda can “can say whatever he wants.”
Prominent Kiwi motorsport analyst Bob McMurray, who spent three decades working with McLaren in F1, says Liam Lawson has been handed a “poisoned chalice’’ by Red Bull Racing.
Several overseas news outlets have stated New Zealander Lawson has been ditched by Red Bull Racing after just two races, and McMurray fears the reports could be true.
'I guess this comes under the heading, you know, 'no smoke without fire',’’ McMurray told Stuff.
“There is an awful lot of people who seem to be in the know about it. Whether this has been started by one person and it has ignited a forest fire, and everyone else is coming onto it, I don't know.’’
McMurray now fears that Lawson’s dream of retaining his seat at Red Bull Racing is about to be destroyed.
'Likely? I think it is entirely possible what's happening,’’ McMurray added. “Liam Lawson is driving for one of the most ruthless teams in Formula One in terms of driver management.
'It is sort of a poisonous chalice, it's looked at in Formula 1 terms.
'Not only that, he has sort of got the sword of Damocles hanging over his head as well. As the poisoned chalice with Helmut Marko who is the boss of it; who does not brook failure easily.
'I think it is a ridiculous situation that they have got themselves into and I think the situation is entirely Red Bull's fault and not Liam's at this point.''
De Telegraaf, the largest daily morning newspaper in the Netherlands, has reported that Lawson has “definitely’’ been sidelined from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards - with Yuki Tsunoda to be Max Verstappen’s new team-mate.
It would be a straight swap, with Lawson heading back to the Red Bull junior team, the Racing Bulls, for whom he raced at the end of last season.
The article in De Telegraaf stated that “a top meeting of Red Bull’’ took place in Dubai, where the Thai major shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya lives.
Engine supplier Honda was reported to have been involved in the deal. The Japanese manufacturer supports Tsunoda (24), also in financial terms.
De Telegraaf said several sources had confirmed Lawson had been demoted.
This followed earlier reports by another Dutch newspaper, De Limburger.
McMurray said Red Bull Racing should have done more to allow Lawson to spend more time getting used to the car and to be able to test it properly.
'It is well known that the car is difficult to drive,’’ McMurray noted.
“Max [Verstappen] is saying it is difficult to drive. And despite what everybody seems to infer, that car must be built around Max Verstappen as the driver. He requires a car that is incredibly different to other cars in the way that it drives.''
McMurray said Lawson had a maximum of three days to practice in the car.
'He was testing in Bahrain. One day was wet and not a good day for testing anyway. So that was kind of a wipeout for him. And then he goes to the Australian Grand Prix. He wasn't able to do one practice session.
'So he has hardly had any miles in that car.''
Red Bull is expected to make the news official later this week.
Lawson has had an underwhelming start to his season with Red Bull. The 23-year-old has struggled to find pace and deliver any results after being elevated alongside Verstappen ahead of the 2025 season.
Lawson qualified 18th for the Australian Grand Prix, the opening race of the season, before he spun out and failed to reach the chequered flag.
In the second race at the China Grand Prix, he finished 16th but time penalties and disqualifications lifted the Kiwi to 12th.
The pre-season expectation was for Lawson to score points with top 10 finishes.
After the China Grand Prix in Shanghai, a report from Autosport suggested Lawson could be replaced by Tsunoda - as early as before the Japanese Grand Prix on April 6.
Lawson, however, laughed off Tsunoda’s claim that he is ready to replace him at Red Bull, remarking that the Racing Bulls driver “can say whatever he wants.”
Speaking after Sunday’s race in Shanghai, Lawson pointed to his impressive record of racing against Tsunoda in the junior categories and Formula 1 as evidence that he was better equipped for a Red Bull seat.
Asked if he is worried by by Tsunoda’s comments, Lawson laughed: “Not really. He can honestly say whatever he wants.
“I’ve raced him for years, raced him in junior categories and beat him.
“And I did in F1 as well, so he can say whatever he wants.”
In his post-race media conference in Shanghai, Red Bull boss Christian Horner was hit with multiple questions around Lawson’s future.
“There’s always going to be speculation in the paddock,” Horner said. “We’ve only just finished the race here. We’ll take away the info and have a good look at it.
“Everything is purely speculative at the moment. As I said, we’ve just finished this race. We’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it.”