Liam Lawson could be replaced at Red Bull by Yuki Tsunoda as early as the Japanese Grand Prix, Autosport understands.
Amid a difficult start to the season for Lawson, Red Bull is already considering changing its driver line-up ahead of Suzuka, with Tsunoda named by paddock sources as a potential replacement.
Although no final decision has been taken, discussions about such a scenario have begun – and the possibility of a driver swap between the two teams is understood to be likely.
Lawson has endured a challenging campaign so far. At the season-opening round in Australia, he qualified 18th and, having made little progress during the race, crashed out on lap 46.
The team hoped for a step forward in China, but Lawson qualified last for both the sprint and main races, with the gap to team-mate Max Verstappen edging close to a second per lap. He finished 14th in Saturday's sprint and 15th in the grand prix.
Speaking to the media on Saturday afternoon, Lawson admitted he still has a lot to do to get to grips with the RB21.
"It's just really tough, honestly," he said, speaking to Sky Sports F1. "I think the window's really small – I mean, that's known – but honestly, it's not an excuse."
When asked what he needs to improve, he said: "It's just time. Unfortunately, I don't really have time."
When those words were put by Autosport to Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, his response was: "He is right."
Although Marko didn’t specify whether Lawson will be given more time to improve, it now appears that Lawson’s lack of clarity on how to extract more performance has prompted Red Bull management to consider an immediate line-up change – especially in light of Tsunoda’s form this year.
The Japanese driver qualified fifth in Australia and was running in a strong sixth place before a strategic error from Racing Bulls cost him positions and he finished 12th.
In China, Tsunoda showed strong form again, finishing sixth in the sprint race while fending off the Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli throughout the 19-lap contest. The Japanese driver suffered a front wing failure, causing a late unscheduled pitstop, which dropped him to 19th in the main race in Shanghai.
Asked about Tsunoda's performance earlier in the weekend, Marko told Autosport: "Yuki is a different Yuki from the years before. He is in the form of his life. Obviously he changed his management. He has a different approach. He's more mature. It took a while, but now it looks like it's working."
With Tsunoda's early-season form, speculation in the media about a possible promotion to the main team has already started – though it wasn't expected that such a scenario would be seriously considered by Red Bull this early in the campaign.
After finishing sixth in the sprint, Tsunoda was asked in his media session whether he would agree to swap places with Lawson in Suzuka. He replied: "Japan? Yeah, 100%. I mean, the [Red Bull] car is faster."
Autosport understands that discussions will continue after the race in Shanghai, with a final decision – on whether to give Lawson more time to improve or to replace him immediately with Tsunoda – expected next week.
