New Delhi, March 27 : After the struggling start of the Formula 1 season, Red Bull have confirmed that Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards.

Lawson endured a difficult run in the opening two races of the season in Melbourne and Shanghai. He faced DNF in the season opener before finishing 12th in the Chinese Grand Prix last weekend following the disqualifications of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly. The pressure was mounting on Red Bull to extract the full potential of their second car to aid reigning world champion Max Verstappen in the team standings.

Lawson raced alongside Tsunoda in the latter stages of 2024 after replacing Daniel Ricciardo at the then-named RB team, and his performances were enough to earn him a promotion to Red Bull as Verstappen's new teammate in 2025 following the exit of Sergio Perez.

Rumours quickly mounted that the 23-year-old could be replaced at the team as early as Round 3 in Japan, and now it has been confirmed that Tsunoda will fill Lawson's seat when F1 returns to Suzuka on April 4-6 ' with Lawson returning to the Racing Bulls squad alongside rookie Isack Hadjar.

After making his debut for the then-named AlphaTauri squad back in 2021, Tsunoda has continued to develop as a driver across the years that have followed, the Japanese racer having outscored his recent teammates, including Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo.

The 2024 campaign was one that Tsunoda heralded as "one of my best" after scoring 30 of his team's 46 points across the season.

He went on to make his test debut for Red Bull at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi ' but it was subsequently confirmed that Lawson rather than Tsunoda would replace Perez at the Milton Keynes-based outfit in 2025.

Tsunoda ' now in his fifth campaign in Formula 1 ' went on to state that he could 'understand' why the team chose Lawson, insisting that he didn't feel "super angry or disappointed" upon hearing the news.

But with Lawson's Red Bull tenure ending after just two races, Tsunoda has been given his opportunity to race alongside Verstappen at the championship-winning squad ' starting with his home event at Suzuka.

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Racing Bulls, said, "We're incredibly proud of Yuki earning his well-deserved move to Oracle Red Bull Racing! His progress last year, and more recently from the very start of 2025, has been nothing less than sensational.

"Personally, and collectively, it has been an immense privilege to witness those progresses for all of us in Faenza and in Milton Keynes. Yuki's energy and positivity has lightened up every corner of our factories and of our garage and he will always be a Racing Bull! We wish him all the success he deserves at ORBR.

"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."

/IANS