While McLaren has a pair of wins to begin their title defense, Red Bull has a second driver lineup, with the news that Liam Lawson has been demoted to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, in a driver swap with Yuki Tsunoda ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen has ‘liked’ an Instagram post from former Formula One driver Giedo van der Garde accusing Red Bull of “bullying” Liam Lawson. It came after the New Zealander’s demotion to Racing Bulls was confirmed by Red Bull on Thursday.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified 1-2 on the grid, then went on to dominate the race until a trip into the gravel knocked the latter out of contention for a win. Verstappen brought his Red Bull home in second, albeit with the knowledge that he didn’t have the equipment to compete.

Red Bull has dropped Liam Lawson as the teammate of Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen just two rounds into the season and replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda

It is a decision that took Red Bull just two races to reverse. The team announced Thursday morning that Tsunoda would be swapping seats with Lawson with immediate effect for April

Yuki Tsunoda will race for Red Bull from his home Japanese Formula One Grand Prix next week with struggling New Zealander Liam Lawson demoted to sister team Racing Bulls in a straight swap.

Liam Lawson has broken his silence on his demotion from Red Bull to sister team Racing Bulls, describing it as “tough”.

COMMENT: Red Bull have promoted their Japanese driver just two races into the new season at the expense of Liam Lawson – but as Kieran Jackson explains, the role of Max Verstappen’s teammate is the to