Yuki Tsunoda urged to reject Red Bull “chaos” amid Liam Lawson swap rumours

Ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has urged Yuki Tsunoda to reject a move to Red Bull as Liam Lawson’s replacement, saying “he can’t do himself any favours with it”.

After another difficult weekend for Lawson at the Chinese Grand Prix, Red Bull are reportedly considering making a driver change for the next race at Suzuka.

They intend to replace Lawson with Tsunoda, who has impressed at Racing Bulls in early 2025.

Lawson’s future is unclear with conflicting reports suggesting he could return to Racing Bulls.

While the Spanish press has claimed Red Bull have targeted Franco Colapinto to put alongside Isack Hadjar.

Lawson has struggled in his two races for Red Bull, failing to make it out of Q1 in Australia or China.

Schumacher believes Tsunoda should turn down a potential Red Bull promotion.

“That’s not quite confirmed yet, but that’s probably the way it is,” Schumacher said to Sky Germany.

“And that has to be said, is unbelievable. Above all, incredibly bad from a management point of view. I don’t understand that at all.

“You destabilize the good Racing Bulls team, who are finally in a good position with both drivers, and in my opinion, you will burn Tsunoda, who is better, but who also has no chance against Max.

“And Lawson then goes back to the Racing Bulls, he should build up there again. It’s kind of pure chaos at Red Bull. So not only that the main team is too slow, but that they also swap the riders like a charade. I think that’s unbelievable.

“If I was Tsunoda’s manager, I wouldn’t recommend him to go there. At the moment, Racing Bulls is the better car and Tsunoda is getting on really well with it. He can’t do himself any favours with it.”

Red Bull’s second driver problem

Since Daniel Ricciardo's departure at the end of 2018, Red Bull have struggled to find a suitable teammate for Verstappen.

Pierre Gasly was sacked after 12 races, paving the way for Alex Albon.

Albon lasted just one full season (2020) after a short cameo in 2019.

Unwilling to go back to Gasly, who impressed at AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls), Red Bull turned to Sergio Perez.

Perez played a crucial role in Verstappen’s 2021 title win, but they lost the constructors’ title to Mercedes.

Perez was also why they finished third, behind McLaren and Ferrari in the 2024 championship, leaving Red Bull to end his contract early.

Lawson is the latest driver set to be replaced by Red Bull as they turn to Tsunoda.