Formula 1 Japanese GP
IndyCar’s Scott McLaughlin comments on "irrational" Liam Lawson exit
IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin shared his strong reaction to Red Bull replacing Liam Lawson after just two races of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Lydia Mee
Published: Mar 27, 2025, 11:18 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Liam Lawson,VCARB
Photo by: Erik Junius
IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin has reacted to the news that Red Bull has decided to replace Liam Lawson after the first two Grands Prix of the 2025 Formula 1 season. McLaughlin has branded the decision as "ruthless/irrational."
Red Bull announced this morning that team leaders had made the unified decision to replace Lawson with Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda starting from the Japanese Grand Prix. As the Japanese driver steps up for his home race, Lawson will move to Racing Bulls to drive alongside fellow rookie Isack Hadjar.
The decision has already garnered significant reactions from people within the sport, and now, fellow New Zealander McLaughlin has shared his take on the matter:
"Here’s a take that you didn’t ask for. 2 tracks they gave Liam in that car, that he hadn’t been to before. Finally heads to Suzuka where perhaps he knows that track more than most on the calendar due to racing in Japan etc. But get’s [sic] axed before it.
"It’s a cruel sport, but I really don’t think he was given a fair shot IMO. Ok.. if he goes bad at Suzuka, I get the change up. But give the kid a chance if you are going to throw him in the deep end against a 4x world champ to begin with, why even give him the shot in the first place if you aren’t going to ride the wave?
"Nothing against Yuki and I think he’s a shoe, but the Red Bull game is ruthless/irrational. I look forward to the next instalment of this broken system."
Lawson is yet to comment on the move but will face the media in Suzuka. Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies has however broken his silence on Lawson returning to the team, stating:
Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“Everyone here at VCARB is looking forward to working hard with Liam to give him the best environment possible for him to shine in our car and to express the talent we all know he has. He fit in so well last year, and we cannot wait to challenge ourselves and grow as a team. With Isack having started so strongly with us already, we know we have a young and strong line-up.”
The Japanese Grand Prix will start next week, 4-6 April.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Max Verstappen unveils special Japanese Grand Prix helmet design
Next article Are strategy mistakes “wasting” Racing Bulls’ potential in F1 2025?
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lydia Mee
Laurent Mekies credited with ending Red Bull's second seat "curse"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Laurent Mekies credited with ending Red Bull's second seat "curse"
Guenther Steiner jokes Christian Horner Ferrari talk is good book publicity
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Guenther Steiner jokes Christian Horner Ferrari talk is good book publicity
Kimi Antonelli has "spooked himself" amid F1 title pressure, says Naomi Schiff
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Kimi Antonelli has "spooked himself" amid F1 title pressure, says Naomi Schiff
More from
Liam Lawson
Who slept worst last night: Nikola Tsolov
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Who slept worst last night: Nikola Tsolov
Racing Bulls "not in a rush" to decide between three "fantastic" drivers for F1 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Racing Bulls "not in a rush" to decide between three "fantastic" drivers for F1 2027
Five contenders to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
Five contenders to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
More from
Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Red Bull called Christian Horner to thank him for F1 engine project after maiden win
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
13 h
Red Bull called Christian Horner to thank him for F1 engine project after maiden win
Latest news
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
3 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Talladega II
3 h
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe