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IndyCar driver lashes out at "ruthless" and "irrational" Red Bull
Red Bull Racing's decision to replace Liam Lawson after only two Grands Prix has been branded "ruthless" and "irrational" by IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin.
After a disappointing first two races of the 2025 season, Red Bull Racing made the decision to replace Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda, with the New Zealander moving back to Racing Bulls, allowing the Japanese driver to move up the grid to the Austrian team and join Max Verstappen.
It's a move that continues to stir controversy, with Lawson only racing in 13 total Grands Prix in his limited time in F1, with the races at the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix at circuits the 23-year-old has very little experience at. However, team principal Christian Horner and Helmut Marko decided a move was needed, and he will race at Red Bull's sister team for the remainder of 2024.
'What Red Bull is doing is cruel and irrational'
Lawson's compatriot McLaughlin took to X to speak out vehemently about the situation, the way Red Bull has dealt with the young talent is "cruel and irrational".
"Here’s a take that you didn’t ask for," the IndyCar driver said. "The two tracks they gave Liam in that car, he hadn’t been to before. He finally heads to Suzuka, where perhaps he knows the track more than most on the calendar due to racing in Japan, etc., but he gets axed before it.
"It’s a cruel sport, but I really don’t think he was given a fair shot, in my opinion. Ok, if he goes bad at Suzuka, I get the change-up. But give the kid a chance. If you are going to throw him in the deep end against a four-time world champion to begin with, why even give him the shot in the first place if you aren’t going to ride the wave?", continued a bemused McLaughlin.
Even though the New Zealander believes Tsunoda has the chance to perform well at Red Bull now, he is still worried that the way the Austrian team go about their business will lead to more issues: "Nothing against Yuki, and I think he’s a shoe, but the Red Bull game is ruthless/irrational. I look forward to the next instalment of this broken system."
This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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