Lawson Disputes Red Bull Demotion Amid Criticism

Liam Lawson was demoted from Red Bull Racing to Racing Bulls after just two races in the 2025 Formula 1 season, a move publicly justified by former team principal Christian Horner, who cited Lawson's struggles with pressure and confidence. Lawson has disputed this, maintaining that he was not given sufficient time to adapt to the RB21 car and unfamiliar tracks, and that his confidence remained intact. He attributes his early poor results to a lack of testing and challenging race conditions, rather than mindset issues. The decision has drawn criticism, especially since Lawson's replacement, Yuki Tsunoda, has also struggled to achieve strong results. Since returning to Racing Bulls, Lawson has shown improvement and scored points, while focusing on performance and aiming for a 2026 F1 contract. The situation has sparked debate about Red Bull's driver management strategy.