Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull right before his home Grand Prix in Suzuka, a move which coincided with Liam Lawson being demoted back to Racing Bulls to start his third stint with the team. The Kiwi driver was seen as the team’s gem towards the end of 2024, and he was called upon to replace Sergio Perez for 2025, even after Perez signed a deal that ran through 2026.
Even after the demotion, his future in Formula 1 still might not be 100% secure.
The Red Bull pipeline has been extremely competitive and quite brutal at times. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have never decided to replace a driver this quickly, and the motivation to do so ironically stemmed from Perez’s underperformance costing the team a third straight constructor championship in 2024.
With the number of junior drivers they have making headlines, Red Bull have a rather strong pipeline compared to other teams. One driver in particular who has been talked about since last year is 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad.
Lindblad’s rise could push Lawson out
The British-Swedish driver has garnered some comparisons to Max Verstappen, who entirely skipped GP2 (second tier of racing before Formula 2’s inception). Lindblad made history in Jeddah this past weekend, as the 17-year-old became the youngest ever Formula 2 race winner, taking home the victory in the sprint race.
Consistency and development will be key in assessing Lindblad’s readiness for Formula 1. He currently stands seventh in the Formula 2 championship, behind teammate and fellow Red Bull junior Pepe Marti in second place.
With Racing Bulls intended to be a developmental team, they may prioritize youth and trajectory over just success in Formula 2. Additionally, there is a more recent precedent that has been set with the promotion of a younger driver to Formula 1, with Mercedes having brought in Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton, despite the fact that he is only 18 years old.
Lawson getting outperformed by rookie Isack Hadjar is not a good look either, as he has yet to finish a race above his French-Algerian teammate. If Lawson and Lindblad continue their current respective trajectories, perhaps Lindblad may end up becoming the preferred driver to pair with Hadjar in 2026.