By Anandi Ganguly

Fast, Furious and Immediately Replaced. The F1 world is no stranger to chaos, but when news broke that Red Bull’s 23-year-old Kiwi, Liam Lawson, would be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda just six days after the Chinese Grand Prix and Lawson would go back to VCARB, only two races into the 2025 season, it sent shockwaves through the paddock. 

Formula 1’s most glittering poisoned chalice can seem like the throne next to the world champion, but it often turns out to be a mirage because the closer you get, the faster it disappears. 

This begs the bigger question: what is up with that second Red Bull seat? Did Daniel Ricciardo put a curse on it when he left? Because ever since he walked out the door, it’s been less of a race seat and more a revolving door of disappointment.

Meet Red Bull Racing’s Hotter, Younger Brother

The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (VCARB) operates as Red Bull’s junior outfit, a proving ground for promising rookies in the Red Bull driver program to gain experience, showcase their talent, and, if they impress the higher-ups, earn a shot at the coveted senior seat. 24-year-old Yuki Tsunoda has been driving for VCARB since 2021. Known for being a fierce competitor, he was often labelled aggressive, hotheaded, and lacking composure in his early days. But over the last two seasons, he’s really come into his own, delivering consistently strong performances, notably qualifying P3 in a wet and chaotic qualifying session at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix.

So, when the rumour mill began churning late last year with talk of Red Bull dropping Sergio Pérez for 2025 following his lacklustre performance, and with the avenue of recruiting a driver from another team, such as Carlos Sainz, seemingly closed, Yuki appeared to be the obvious choice for the seat beside Max Verstappen.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Red Bull had other plans up their sleeves. Enter Liam Lawson

Liam had his first foray into Formula 1 with VCARB in 2023, stepping in for Daniel Ricciardo after his injury and racing alongside Yuki for a few rounds. In just his third race, in the gruelling heat of Singapore, Lawson stunned the paddock by outqualifying Max Verstappen during the Dutchman’s most dominant season. He was also the only one of the four Red Bull-affiliated cars to make it into the top 10 that weekend. While that performance earned him instant praise and plenty of attention, Red Bull chose to stick with the Ricciardo-Tsunoda lineup for 2024. That is, until September of 2024, when Ricciardo was unceremoniously dropped from the team following the Singapore Grand Prix, and Lawson was brought back in to finish out the season. However, despite consistently outperforming all his recent teammates — Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo, and even Lawson- Yuki was overlooked for the promotion to Redbull following the sacking of Perez. Instead, it was Lawson who got the nod. That decision, though, wouldn’t last long.

So, what’s the logic in choosing a relatively inexperienced driver over a proven, well-performing one… only to drop that driver just two races into the season?

The Curse of the 2nd Seat

It’s a pattern Red Bull has developed over the years, the second seat at Red Bull has become a revolving door of pressure and discarded potential. So let’s explore why that seat has become such a cursed throne ever since Ricciardo’s departure, from Pierre Gasly to Alex Albon to Sergio Pérez, and now, possibly, Liam Lawson.

Ricciardo and Verstappen were a fierce, formidable pairing, one of the strongest lineups on the grid: a proven race winner alongside a champion in the making. But by the end of 2018, Daniel Ricciardo sensed the shifting tide of favouritism within Red Bull. With the team clearly building around Max, he boldly decided to leave for Renault.

Ever since then, Red Bull has been searching for a true replacement, and they still haven’t found one.

Pierre Gasly (2019)

The Frenchman had turned heads during his first full season with the junior team in 2018, scoring 29 of their 33 points and establishing himself as a rising star. So when Daniel Ricciardo made a shock switch to Renault, Red Bull stuck to their tradition of promoting from within, and Pierre Gasly got the call-up. 

However, Gasly found it difficult to match Verstappen’s pace. At the summer break, he was sitting sixth in the standings with only 63 points, less than a third of what Verstappen had racked up at 181. The gap was just impossible to ignore, and Red Bull didn’t hesitate. After just 12 races, Gasly was sent back to the junior team. 

Alex Albon (2019-2020)

Now flying the flag for Williams, Alex Albon’s journey through the Red Bull ranks felt like a dream unfolding at breakneck speed. Set to spend his rookie season finding his footing at VCARB (called ‘Toro Rosso’ back then) in 2019, he barely had time to settle in. Just after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull made the call: Albon would be promoted to the top team, replacing Pierre Gasly and stepping into one of the most high-pressure seats in Formula 1.

It was a moment filled with excitement, expectation, and immense pressure. One minute, he was the promising newcomer; the next, he was thrust into the lion’s den. And remarkably, Albon rose to the challenge. For the remainder of the season, he held his own by scoring 76 points in the Red Bull, just 21 shy of Verstappen’s 97 over the same stretch. Not bad for a rookie parachuted into the sport’s most unforgiving spotlight. At the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony, he was honoured with the Rookie of the Year award, a fitting nod to a debut season that was anything but ordinary.

However, things began to unravel in 2020. Although Albon started the season relatively close to Verstappen, the gap quickly widened. By the end of the year, he had managed 105 points in the Drivers’ Championship, less than half of Max’s 214. The pressure mounted, and Red Bull made yet another ruthless decision. Albon was demoted to the role of test and reserve driver for 2021, as Sergio Pérez was brought in to take his place.

One question constantly hovers around Red Bull’s second seat: Is the car inherently built around Max Verstappen, making it nearly impossible for anyone else to thrive? The answer, like most things in Formula 1, is not that simple.

Max’s driving style is uniquely aggressive, and as the team’s clear lead driver and primary point-scorer, the car is naturally fine-tuned to help him extract every ounce of performance. Albon explains that driving Max’s setup is like playing a video game with the sensitivity settings cranked up. It works brilliantly for Max, but it can feel nearly unmanageable for anyone else.

Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez (2021-2024)

For a while, it seemed like Red Bull had FINALLY found their ideal second driver in Sergio Pérez. Affectionately nicknamed the ‘tyre whisperer’ for his ability to effectively manage his tyres, he played the perfect wingman during Max Verstappen’s maiden title run, none more memorable than his heroic two-lap defence against Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi 2021, a move that inarguably helped seal Max’s first world championship. In 2022, Pérez kept up the momentum, finishing third in the standings and taking standout wins in Monaco and Singapore.

But by 2023, something was off. Yes, he technically finished second in the championship, but let’s not be fooled! That was more a reflection of the sheer dominance of the RB19 than Pérez’s consistency. The car was a weapon, pure and simple, with Verstappen often finishing 20 to 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the grid in almost every race (with the rare exception of Singapore and Carlos Sainz’s tactical brilliance<3). 

And here’s where it gets interesting. Despite finishing second, Pérez was nearly 300 points behind Max. That’s not a gap; it’s a chasm. He was statistically closer to third-place Lewis Hamilton in a far less competitive Mercedes than he was to his own teammate. 

The trend continued in 2024, as Formula 1 delivered one of its most thrilling seasons ever, right off the back of one of its dullest. After a solid start, Pérez’s form nosedived following his fourth-place finish in Miami. Despite signing a two-year contract extension that same month, he failed to finish in the top five ever again.

His slump coincided with McLaren’s resurgence. Lando Norris’s win in Miami ignited a charge, and with Oscar Piastri, the papaya duo powered McLaren to the Constructors’ title. Pérez’s decline proved costly, with expensive crashes in Monaco and Canada racking up millions in damages; tensions inside Red Bull began to boil.

Coming off the most dominant season in F1 history, with record-breaking wins in 2023, Red Bull couldn’t even hold onto second place in the Constructors’ as Ferrari overtook them in 2024, while Verstappen's early-season brilliance was just enough to secure him the Drivers’ title. But for Red Bull as a team, the cracks were impossible to ignore; the ever-widening gulf between their two drivers had finally caught up to them.

Speaking of the decision to offer Pérez a contract extension so early in the season, Team Principal Christian Horner said,

Obviously at the time, Sergio was performing extremely well…And in order to settle his mind and extend that run of form for the rest of the season, we elected to go early, which obviously didn't work. So, that's just life sometimes.”

But was it just Pérez’s form, or is something fundamentally wrong with the Red Bull car itself? Ever since legendary designer Adrian Newey left the team early last year to join Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team after two decades, whispers of instability have swelled. This, alongside the departures of key personnel like Rob Marshall (now at McLaren) and head of aerodynamics, Dan Fallows (now Aston Martin’s technical director), has exposed cracks in what once looked like an unshakeable empire.

Pérez voiced repeated frustrations with the car’s unpredictability, claiming driving at the limit was becoming increasingly difficult. And even Verstappen showed rare flashes of dissatisfaction, calling out poor balance, inconsistent grip, and lack of confidence under braking. When both drivers start sounding the alarm, it’s hard to ignore the possibility that Red Bull’s problems aren’t just about the second seat; they might be baked into the very machine itself. 

Apparently, the troubles with the RB20 began in Barcelona 2023, at the height of their dominance. Horner admitted,

We traced the development history back and discovered that the first mistake we made was with an underbody upgrade in 2023 at Barcelona. That was also the Grand Prix where Checo started having problems with the car. We just didn't take it too seriously because Max kept winning.”

With Lawson’s disappointing start, a DNF in Australia and P16 in China, it’s clear the problem wasn’t just Pérez. Red Bull’s issues run deeper, and after the backlash he faced in 2024, Pérez is owed an apology from the F1 community because Red Bull’s only hope of scoring points right now hinges entirely on a generational talent like Max.

Rising from the Ashes

Take the cases of Gasly and Albon. Both were dropped from the Red Bull senior team, but both went on to prove their worth in ways that Red Bull never quite allowed them to.

Pierre Gasly, being demoted to the junior team, bounced back spectacularly, taking his first-ever Grand Prix win at Monza in 2020 in a stunning underdog victory. Despite bouts of bad luck and a midfield car, he’s continued to impress, most recently with a brilliant P3 finish for Alpine at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix.

Alex Albon, meanwhile, took a year away from Formula 1 after his Red Bull exit. He returned in 2022 with Williams, a team languishing at the back of the grid, and immediately made an impact. In the junior categories, Albon was revered; drivers like Leclerc, Norris, and Russell have all said he was the one they looked up to and had to beat. At Williams, he’s rebuilt his career and the team’s culture, becoming a quiet leader who drives development and morale. And now, in 2025, Williams is fourth in the Constructors’ standings, with Albon having already finished P4 in Australia and P7 in China.

When I see these drivers finding success outside of the Red Bull ecosystem, I wonder whether the team gives up on them too early? Or maybe their success is precisely because they left and found a more supportive, nurturing environment?

When Christian Horner was asked whether Red Bull needed to rethink its approach to driver development, he deflected, taking credit for their success instead. He argued that no one was giving these drivers a shot before Red Bull brought them into its program. But what’s the point of bringing talent in if you won't give them the environment to grow?

In Netflix’s Drive to Survive’s Latest Season Episode 8, Horner spoke glowingly of Lawson, saying he "drives the car like Max" and praised his “inner strength” to handle the pressure of F1. Fast forward a few months, and the narrative has flipped. Horner now says, 

I think we were asking too much of him too soon." He added, "We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam, and after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience in an environment he knows well, with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls." The move, he insists, is about giving "Yuki the opportunity and making use of the experience that he has."

But why wasn’t this the plan from the get-go? 

The decision to replace Liam Lawson has arguably shown Red Bull at its most ruthless, denying him a real chance to adjust to the car. It’s a move that’s reignited long-standing concerns about the team’s disregard for their drivers’ mental wellbeing. And it’s not just fans raising eyebrows. Much of the paddock seems to agree.

Lewis Hamilton called the decision ‘pretty harsh’, while Oscar Piastri vouched for Lawson, stating the 2 races are not representative of his abilities. Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde penned a heartfelt Instagram post, accusing Red Bull of outright bullying, a sentiment many within the sport, including Max Verstappen, seem to echo. 

Well I liked the comment, the text, so I guess that speaks for itself; it [the like] was not a mistake.” - Max Verstappen

When your star driver, the very one your entire operation is built around, starts to question decisions like this and states that the team's focus needs to be on improving the car, that is a PR nightmare and a genuine cause for concern. Red Bull may have a history of producing champions, but at what cost? The treatment of Lawson has reignited the debate about whether the team nurtures talent or burns through it in pursuit of perfection. 

It’s inarguable that this promotion was long overdue for Tsunoda. He should’ve been given the seat from the start. He even described the earlier snub as being “brutally hard.” And yes, the decision to put him in the Red Bull before his home race in Japan this week is a brilliant marketing move. But what stings most is the way it was handled; it is not just a reshuffle but a careless blow to the morale and mental health of not one, but two young and talented drivers.

At the centre of it all is Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport consultant and the architect of its ruthless driver development programme. He’s long been seen as the all-powerful puppet master pulling the strings, but in recent years, his approach has felt less visionary and more out of touch. In Australia, under chaotic and rain-drenched conditions (I was there — it was insane), rookie driver for VCARB Isack Hadjar spun out on the formation lap of his first-ever Grand Prix. His race was over before it even began.

It was a gutting moment. You could see it in his body language, he didn’t take off his helmet, was visibly emotional, and crying. And really, who could blame him? Imagine being 20 years old, sitting in an F1 car for the first time in your life, living out a dream you’ve worked for since childhood… and it all collapses instantly. The paddock responded with support and empathy, as they should have. But Marko? He called Hadjar’s behaviour “embarrassing.”

So yeah — that’s the evil genius behind it all—the movie villain in the Red Bull saga.

Tsunoda recently admitted that Marko hadn’t even contacted him after his promotion. Not a call, not a message. Nothing. Even Yuki said he found it “odd.” And honestly, it is odd. But maybe that’s just how things work when you’re playing in a system where driver careers are treated more like chess pieces than people.

Because at Red Bull, talent gets you in the door, but survival is another story entirely.

For his part, Tsunoda as a seasoned professional, is approaching the challenge with the calmness of a saint, trusting he’ll be given the time to adjust to the car. As a massive Yuki supporter, I’m thrilled for him and wish him nothing but the best on this journey. I hope for his sake the curse doesn’t live on. And like Will Buxton says, he’ll need all the luck he can get.

Let’s be real: Formula 1 is as cutthroat as it is relentless. Their unofficial motto is “You’re only as good as your last race.” These drivers already carry the weight of expectation, performance anxiety, and global scrutiny every weekend. But when you add toxic team politics, instability, and a complete lack of emotional support, you’re not just risking results; you’re risking people.