Is Red Bull right to immediately axe Liam Lawson? RacingNews365 verdict

After a sample of two, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko have reportedly axed Liam Lawson and promoted Yuki Tsunoda for the next race in Japan in early April.

Lawson, who was promoted over the winter as the replacement for Sergio Perez and preferred ahead of Tsunoda after all data had been evaluated from their time as team-mates at RB late last season, failed to fulfil the potential hailed by Horner.

Two grands prix, a crash in Australia, and three exits from the first qualifying session - bearing in mind China hosted the first sprint of the season - left a driver bereft of confidence, and now apparently demoted immediately back to the 'junior' team.

Here, the RacingNews365 team deliver their verdicts on the shock move.

A dereliction of duty - Ian Parkes

It seems truly unthinkable that after just two grands prix, Red Bull is dropping Lawson.

A few days before Christmas, in one of the hallowed rooms of the RAC club in London, and a day after Red Bull had dug deep into its coffers to pay off the remainder of Sergio Perez's lucrative contract the Mexican had signed just over six months previously, Horner was extolling the virtues of the relatively unsung Lawson to a group of assembled media, including myself.

Horner hailed Lawson's "potential for growth", his exemplary attitude, and "his ability to deal with pressure". He described the 22-year-old as 'looking like a seasoned campaigner' in the final six races of last season after being hired to fill the RB seat previously occupied by the sacked Daniel Ricciardo.

Horner also felt that Lawson had "the right character to cope with the pressure" of being team-mate to Max Verstappen, describing his four-time F1 champion as "a generational talent". There was no expectation on Lawson, assured Horner, to beat Verstappen, simply "to bag as many points as he can so that we don't have a 285-point deficit between them".

The closing words referred to the gap between Verstappen and Perez at the end of last season that cost Red Bull the defence of its constructors' championship, resulting in the latter's departure and Lawson's arrival after just 11 grands prix.

There is no doubt the start to this season has been a baptism of fire for Lawson, and the performances and results don't lie, but this is a problem of Red Bull's own making, and the New Zealander should not be its scapegoat.

When Verstappen remarked over the Shanghai weekend that Lawson would be better off with Racing Bulls as it has a better car, it tells you all you need to know about Red Bull's RB21.

It is a handful, described by Verstappen as "slow", unsurprisingly requiring the talents of arguably the greatest driver of the current generation to wrestle lap times from it in qualifying and find a level of race pace so far found wanting against rivals McLaren and Mercedes in particular.

Lawson should still arguably have done better than qualify slowest in the same machinery for the sprint and grand prix in China, but dropping him now is a dereliction of duty by Horner and Marko to protect one of its junior products at such a rough stage.

Lawson should, at the very least, be given the next race in Japan to prove himself at a circuit he knows well after twice competing at the renowned track in Super Formula in 2023, compared to Melbourne's Albert Park and the Shanghai International Circuit around which he had never turned a wheel.

At the most, allow him the upcoming triple-header, with Bahrain to follow after Japan, another circuit he has an understanding of after testing, before being pitched into the unknown again with Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Street Circuit.

Then, and only then, can a proper evaluation be made of Lawson's "potential", so highly touted three months ago by Horner, and in which the team should invest and support rather than tossing him to one side at such a fragile juncture in his development.   

Stern questions will be asked - Fergal Walsh

The first two races of Lawson’s career at Red Bull can only be described as a catastrophe. 

Beyond his struggles in qualifying and grands prix, there has not even been a momentary flash that created a suggestion of Lawson putting together an enjoyable lap with confidence.

It has been rather painful to watch - but Red Bull made its decision and it should stand by it.

Should the situation fail to improve across the upcoming triple header and Lawson continue to languish at the foot of the F1 pecking order, talk of a driver swap with Tsunoda would be more justified.

But if there’s one sure way to shatter the confidence of a driver you have reared since they were a teenager, it’s stripping him of the drive at such an early stage. 

As history has shown, he will not be given that opportunity again.

The question of whether it was the right decision to promote him in the first place is now irrelevant - Red Bull committed to Lawson and must draw on a larger sample size before making a decision.

While it delivers a risk to its championship aspirations, stern questions will be asked of Red Bull over its rash decision.

We have seen this all before - Nick Golding

There is absolutely no doubting Lawson has endured the worst possible start imaginable to his career as a full-time Red Bull driver, but surely he should be given at least one more race.

To drop Lawson before Suzuka feels completely illogical, especially given it represents the first circuit on the calendar he has raced at before. 

Lawson deserves the upcoming triple-header to prove he does have what it takes before Tsunoda is given the promotion he has been chasing for multiple seasons. 

What is confusing about the entire situation is what sort of message Red Bull wants to send to its junior drivers. Be loyal to Red Bull until you reach F1, then face a potential career-ending axe after a couple of bad results?

The treatment of Lawson feels similar to that of Pierre Gasly, who was given 12 races at Red Bull before being replaced by Alex Albon. 

Similar to what is being rumoured with Lawson, Gasly then spent a few years back in the sister team, knowing he never had a chance of returning to the main outfit. 

Sending Lawson back to Racing Bulls could end his F1 career at the end of the season if he continued to struggle there, especially with the threat of Red Bull's teenage sensation Arvid Lindblad waiting in the wings.

Lawson has been loyal to Red Bull for several seasons and has waited for his opportunity, the least he deserves is five races before the Red Bull driver merry-go-round turns again.