How will Red Bull’s new F1 driver fare? Five key questions ahead of Japanese GP

This weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix will kick-start F1’s first triple header of the 2025 season.

After a dramatic opening two races and plenty of storylines dominating both on and off track, there is plenty to keep an eye on heading into the third round of the season.

Here are some of the biggest talking points as the paddock descends on Suzuka…

Can Yuki Tsunoda adapt where others failed?

Following Red Bull’s ruthless decision to swap their drivers after just two rounds of the season, there will be even more focus surrounding home hero Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda has been promoted to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull, with Liam Lawson returning to sister team Racing Bulls in a direct swap after his nightmare start to the campaign.

The 24-year-old Japanese racer will finally realise his dream of getting a shot at the big time with the main Red Bull team on home soil, but Tsunoda faces a huge and daunting task.

Tsunoda takes over a RB21 car which destroyed Lawson’s confidence and has proven incredibly challenging to drive. How quickly Tsunoda can adapt to Red Bull’s tricky 2025 challenger, without the benefit of a pre-season test under his belt, is one of the biggest questions heading into the weekend.

Red Bull clearly feel it can’t get any worse than how things went in China, where Lawson qualified last for both the sprint and main grand prix. The team will not be expecting Tsunoda to immediately be on Verstappen’s pace, but Red Bull do need him to be closer and scoring points.

Can Tsunoda, backed by huge home support, finally buck the trend of drivers struggling in Red Bull’s second seat, or will he ultimately suffer the same fate as those that have gone before him?

How will Liam Lawson respond?

Lawson has been forced to grapple with the heartbreak of losing his Red Bull seat in brutal fashion.

Red Bull insist Lawson has not been demoted but that they are instead protecting him by moving into a less-pressured environment in the hope he can regain his confidence and mojo in a car which is easier to drive following a brief, yet bruising stint at the main team.

Lawson will have to demonstrate some of that mental resolve and steel Red Bull credited him with when he was originally given the nod over Tsunoda to replace Sergio Perez - despite only completing 11 grands prix spread over a two-year period.

How the 23-year-old Kiwi responds to the setback will be crucial. There is hope Lawson can get back to the kind of performances that saw him earn promotion in the first place and flourish at Racing Bulls alongside French rookie Isack Hadjar.

Lawson only needs to look at how Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have bounced back from getting the boot at Red Bull for inspiration that this difficult chapter won’t necessarily define him.

Can anyone stop McLaren?

McLaren have enjoyed a near-perfect start to the 2025 season, winning both grands prix and claiming a one-two finish last time out in Shanghai.

Following on from their constructors’ championship triumph last year, McLaren have lived up to their billing as the team to beat in 2025, with their MCL39 proving the benchmark package.

Lando Norris beat Verstappen to win a wet and chaotic season-opener in Australia, before Oscar Piastri claimed a convincing victory in China, leading home Norris for the team’s first one-two of the year.

McLaren’s performance in the Chinese Grand Prix was particularly eye-catching thanks to Piastri’s dominance. Both Norris and Piastri now have a pole position and grand prix win, underlining that their car is the class of the field early on in 2025.

McLaren have been quick to dismiss Mercedes driver George Russell’s suggestion that the team could win every race this year, but stopping McLaren any time soon will certainly take something special. So far it has been Mercedes and Red Bull who have looked like the biggest threat to McLaren. 

McLaren head to Suzuka as the firm favourites around a high-speed track which should suit their car. If McLaren do hold the advantage, all eyes will turn to the intra-team battle, with Norris and Piastri separated by just 10 points.

Will Ferrari get their season back on track?

Ferrari have suffered their worst start to a season since 2009.

It has been a truly horrendous opening to 2025, with Ferrari languishing fifth in the constructors’ championship having scored just 17 points across the opening two rounds.

Ferrari were tipped as being McLaren’s nearest challenges in pre-season but the Italian team have fallen well short of expectations.

The SF-25 clearly has potential, which Lewis Hamilton showed glimpses of by taking his first Ferrari pole position and win in the China sprint, but their performance in Australia and the main grand prix in Shanghai was lacklustre to say the least.

After finishing just fifth and sixth in China, Ferrari were hit by a horror double disqualification which cost them 18 points and has subsequently left them 61 points adrift of McLaren. Meanwhile, both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are already well down in the drivers’ standings.

Ferrari are really in need of a good showing in Japan to get their season back on track, otherwise they could see their championship aspirations fizzle out before they even had a chance to really begin.

Can Sainz find the answers he needs?

After such a positive pre-season, it is fair to say it has been a low-key start to life at Williams for Carlos Sainz.

Winning the battle for Sainz’s signature after his Ferrari seat was taken by Hamilton was seen as a massive coup for Williams, but the four-time grand prix winner has struggled to get his season going.

Sainz has been outperformed by teammate Alex Albon so far and had a particularly disappointing weekend in China, where he struggled for pace.

While Sainz hasn’t had the smoothest of starts, Williams are enjoying a very positive start to 2025. They sit fourth in the championship - ahead of Ferrari - largely thanks to Albon’s impressive haul of 16 points.

Sainz has been left puzzled by his early Williams performances as he continues to adapt to a new team and car. Will he be able to find some of the answers he needs heading into this triple header?