Max Verstappen has made his feelings clear after yet another young driver was dropped by Red Bull on Thursday morning.
Rumours had circulated since Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix that Verstappen's new teammate Liam Lawson would be demoted to their second team Racing Bulls after a wretched first two races with the senior team.
That news was confirmed on Thursday, with Lawson brutally axed to the junior team and his Racing Bulls teammate from last year Yuki Tsunoda promoted to Red Bull.
Announcing that @yukitsunoda07 will partner Max from the #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/Pz05P7cFKF
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 27, 2025
Though Lawson will remain in F1, it is a remarkably harsh reaction to a dire start to the season. The New Zealander qualified last at the season opener at Melbourne before crashing out of the Grand Prix. He then failed to get out of Q1 at either the sprint or GP qualifying session in China, and finished P15 on the road before being elevated to P12 by post-race disqualifications.
Nobody can pretend that Lawson's form has been good enough but Red Bull have yet again made a brutal, demoralising call against a young driver early in their career, just as they did with the likes of Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon in previous years.
To drop Lawson after a mere two races at the senior team would appear excessively harsh, regardless of results.
It appears as though Max Verstappen shares that opinion, judging by the defending world champion's social media activity on Thursday.
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F1: Max Verstappen makes feelings clear on Liam Lawson demotion
Ex-F1 driver Giedo van der Garde took to Instagram on Thursday to share his feelings on Liam Lawson's brutal demotion from the Red Bull senior team.
The former Caterham driver accused Red Bull of "bullying" Lawson and suggested that they had "crushed his spirit" with their ruthless decision.
"I'm getting a bit tired of all the comments that F1 is the toughest sport in terms of performances and when you're [sic] underdeliver you've gotta face the consequences," van der Garde said.
Yes, you gotta perform. Yes, the pressure is insane. But in my opinion this comes closer to bullying or a panic move than actual high athlete achievements. They made a decision - fully aware - gave Liam two races only to crush his spirit.
Don't forget the dedication, hard work and success Liam has put in his career so far to achieve the level where he is now. I remember my own blood, sweat and tears - and that was to reach F1. Let alone driving for an absolute top team.
Yes, he underperformed the first two races - but if anyone's aware of that it's himself. Perhaps he has suggested this himself, but if not I wish Liam all the strength and courage to get to the grid in Japan.
Trust yourself, get your head up, prove them wrong.
Tellingly, the ruthless post was liked by none other than Max Verstappen.
The post was also liked by McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who won the Grand Prix last time out in Shanghai.
Reports in the Netherlands had suggested that four-times back-to-back world champion Verstappen was uncomfortable with the idea of demoting Lawson so early in his time at Red Bull. His activity on social media would certainly suggest he at least feels huge empathy for his former teammate.
Relationships between Red Bull and Max Verstappen have been tense for some time. Christian Horner's personal scandal last year drew him into conflict with Verstappen's father Jos, while the team has been faltering both on and off track ever since this time last year. The departures of Jonathan Wheatley and especially Adrian Newey from the setup have fans speculating whether Verstappen may finally leave the team at the end of the season.
Whatever the matter, something is clearly wrong at Red Bull for such a succession of talented young drivers to have failed to make their mark on the team. Just about every driver who has sat alongside Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo's departure in 2018 has been booted out unceremoniously or overstayed their welcome with chronically poor performances.
When something has been continually happening for seven years straight, surely it's time to ponder the root cause of the problem.
