F1 Today | Lawson-Tsunoda swap official, and Red Bull have crisis meeting
F1 News
It's been a day full of stories flying out from Red Bull Racing and Milton Kenyes, as the swap between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda was offically annoucned today. At the Austrian's team factory in England, a crisis meeting was held to discuss how to imrpove their pace, but Helmut Marko was not present. As well as that, Max Verstappen announced that he will be racing with a spevial helmet for the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix.
Red Bull officially announce Lawson-Tsunoda swap
It had been speculation for the last couple of days, but Red Bull and Racing Bulls finally confirmed everyone's suspicions: Liam Lawson will be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull from the Japanese Grand Prix onward.
After just two Grands Prix, the Austrian team will move on from the New Zealander they chose, replacing him with Tsunoda, who was overlooked at the end of the 2024 season after the two former teammates did battle in the final few races of the season.
It's another ruthless call by Red Bull, with many questioning the decision to get rid of an inexperienced Lawson after two challenging weekends, but after two P20s in qualifying, with a DNF in Australai and a P16 in China, it was enough for team principle, Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko to demote him back down to their sister team, while Tsunoda will come up from Racing Bulls to take the seat.
For the full reaction from this official announcement today, be sure to go to the GPblog website to catch up on everything!
Crisis meeting at Red Bull held without Marko
It was also announced by GPblog today that there was a crisis meeting taking place at Red Bull's factory in Milton Keynes today, with the Austrian team hoping to come up with ways to improve their pace that has been lacking quite substantially in the RB21 to start 2025.
However, one notable absentee from today's talk was Marko, who was not present. A reason for why that was has not been given yet, while others from the top team at Red Bull present at their factory. It comes as a surprise as Marko spoke about the meeting earlier in the day.
Verstappen to have a special helmet for Japan
In some other Red Bull news, it was announced that Max Verstappen will be racing with a brand-new, special helmet for the Japanese Grand Prix next weekend.
It's a design that takes inspiration from the 'Land of the Rising Sun', with the colour scheme of white and red mirroring the iconic Japanese flag. The rear of the helmet will also don some blossoms on the back, an iconic flower of Japan.
More merchandise has been released by the Dutchman, along with the announcement of a new helmet, with fans excited about the new line of clothing. But a special helmet will be used by the Red Bull driver in Suzuka.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!