Liam Lawson breaks silence on "tough" Red Bull exit with emotional post

Liam Lawson has broken his silence following his abrupt exit from Red Bull after just two Grands Prix of the 2025 Formula 1 season. 

After the New Zealander's struggles in the Australian Grand Prix, the Chinese sprint race, and the Chinese Grand Prix, the Milton Keynes outfit decided to replace Lawson with Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda from the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix. 

Posting to social media for the first time since the announcement, Lawson wrote:

"Being a @redbullracing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole life. It’s tough, but I'm grateful for everything that’s brought me to this point. To every one of you who’s stood by me, thank you for all the support it means the world.

"Thank you @visacashapprb for the warm welcome, I’m excited and ready to go to work at one of my favourite places."

The decision from Red Bull has been met with some backlash, considering the limited testing time the rookie driver had and the fact that Max Verstappen is also not 100% happy with the RB21 right now. Fellow Kiwi and IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin was just one of those arguing Lawson's case on social media. He posted:

"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.

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

"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."

Tsunoda will step into the RB21 alongside Verstappen in front of his home crowd at the Japanese Grand Prix next week and Lawson will take the spot alongside Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls.