Max Verstappen’s astonishing Red Bull claim amid brutal Liam Lawson axing

A damning claim made by Max Verstappen says it all about Red Bull amid the team’s stunning decision to sack his teammate after two races.

Max Verstappen has claimed Red Bull’s car is harder to drive than the car of its junior team Racing Bulls in a worrying sign of the team’s downfall.

Verstappen is driving the house down as usual so far this season, finishing second in Melbourne and fourth in China as the four-time world champion does his best to remain a contender.

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But Red Bull’s car has fallen off a cliff this season after a dominant few years and the loss of key personnel including genius car designer Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and head engineer Rob Marshall to McLaren.

It would be a miracle if Verstappen claims a fifth world title this year, and it’s panic stations for Red Bull after just two races with Liam Lawson set to be dropped to Racing Bulls in a brutal sacking.

Lawson’s fate has reportedly been sealed in high level team talks, with the Kiwi set to be replaced by Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda at his home race at the Suzuka Circuit next weekend. Official confirmation from Red Bull is expected in the coming days.

Red Bull are struggling early in season 2025. (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images)

The New Zealander will swap places with Tsunoda and return to the junior Racing Bulls team, where he began his F1 career before being picked as Sergio Perez’s replacement at Red Bull.

Speaking after the Chinese Grand Prix, Verstappen made the bold claim that Lawson would find the Racing Bulls car easier to drive than the Red Bull car.

“I think if you put Liam in the Racing Bulls car, he will go faster. I really think so,” Verstappen said.

“That car is easier to drive than ours. I also notice that when I talk to Liam.

“Last year, I didn’t think the difference between him and Yuki Tsunoda was that big. Otherwise the team wouldn’t make the choice to put him in at Red Bull either.”

It’s an astonishing claim given the Red Bull car had been a rocket ship in recent years and the team is putting significant resources into the car — but it has been well off the pace of McLaren this season.

Yuki Tsunoda is set to be promoted to Red Bull. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Liam Lawson has reportedly been dropped by Red Bull after two races. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Team principal Christian Horner didn’t disagree with Verstappen’s comments.

“I think the Racing Bull is a more settled car in terms of it probably is a little more stable on entry,” Horner said.

“It probably has a bit more understeer in that car and therefore is easier to adapt to but you can see the difference in pace in the cars on a longer stint.

“But I think in terms of finding the limit in a car that has inherent understeer, it is always going to be easier than finding the limit in a car that is a little more edgy.”

Lawson qualified dead last for the both the sprint and main race in China and has struggled to get to grips with the RB21.

He looked every bit a driver with the weight of the world on his shoulders when speaking to reporters after qualifying in China.

“It’s just a very small window,” Lawson said, describing the car’s narrow operating band, per Autosport. “It’s hard, you know — it’s hard to drive, to get it in that window.

“I’d like to say that with time that’ll come. I just don’t have time to do that, it’s something I need to get on top of.”

After a four-year apprenticeship at Racing Bulls, Tsunoda is finally getting his chance to drive for Red Bull. But judging by Verstappen’s comments, he could be set for a baptism of fire.

Tsunoda would be Verstappen’s sixth teammate at Red Bull following Lawson, Perez, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Ricciardo.

In the video above, Albon explained why it is so hard being Verstappen’s teammate and why the Red Bull car is so difficult to drive.

The bombshell move to swap Lawson and Tsunoda shows just how desperate Red Bull is to remain competitive in the constructors championship, with the winning team earning a reported USD$140 million (A$222 million).

Verstappen is fighting single-handedly to keep the team in the hunt against McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.

Last year McLaren won the constructors title for the first time since 1998 and they appear on track to win it again with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri behind the wheel.

Originally published as Max Verstappen’s astonishing Red Bull claim amid brutal Liam Lawson axing