Red Bull have announced that Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson at the senior Red Bull Racing squad from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards, with the 24-year-old getting the nod to replace Lawson following a difficult opening two races for the New Zealander.

Lawson raced alongside Tsunoda in the latter stages of 2024 after replacing Daniel Ricciardo at the then-named RB team, and his performances were enough to earn him a promotion to Red Bull as Max Verstappen’s new team mate in 2025 following the exit of Sergio Perez.

However, Lawson struggled to get to grips with the RB21 during the Australian and Chinese Grand Prix weekends, crashing out in the former amid treacherous conditions before crossing the line in 15th in Shanghai, which later became 12th following the disqualifications of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly ahead.

Rumours quickly mounted that the 23-year-old could be replaced at the team as early as Round 3 in Japan, and now it has been confirmed that Tsunoda will fill Lawson’s seat when F1 returns to Suzuka on April 4-6 – with Lawson returning to the Racing Bulls squad alongside rookie Isack Hadjar.

After making his debut for the then-named AlphaTauri squad back in 2021, Tsunoda has continued to develop as a driver across the years that have followed, the Japanese racer having outscored his recent team mates including Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo.

The 2024 campaign was one that Tsunoda heralded as “one of my best” after scoring 30 of his team’s 46 points across the season.

He went on to make his test debut for Red Bull at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi – but it was subsequently confirmed that Lawson rather than Tsunoda would replace Perez at the Milton Keynes-based outfit in 2025.

Tsunoda – now in his fifth campaign in Formula 1 – went on to state that he could “understand” why the team chose Lawson, insisting that he didn’t feel “super angry or disappointed” upon hearing the news.

But with Lawson’s Red Bull tenure ending after just two races, Tsunoda has been given his opportunity to race alongside Verstappen at the championship-winning squad – starting with his home event at Suzuka.

Lawson, meanwhile, will return to Racing Bulls where he will partner with rookie Isack Hadjar – the situation mirroring the cases of Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly, who each returned to the sister outfit from Red Bull after three races into 2016 and 12 in 2019 respectively.

Red Bull Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner said: "It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and, as a result, we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch. We came into the 2025 season with two ambitions, to retain the World Drivers' Championship and to reclaim the World Constructors' title and this is a purely sporting decision.

"We acknowledge there is a lot of work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki's experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car. We welcome him to the Team and are looking forward to seeing him behind the wheel of the RB21.

"We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience, as he continues his F1 career with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, an environment and a Team he knows very well."

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Racing Bulls, said: “We’re incredibly proud of Yuki earning his well-deserved move to Oracle Red Bull Racing! His progress last year, and more recently from the very start of 2025, has been nothing less than sensational.

“Personally, and collectively, it has been an immense privilege to witness those progresses for all of us in Faenza and in Milton Keynes. Yuki’s energy and positivity has lightened up every corner of our factories and of our garage and he will always be a Racing Bull! We wish him all the success he deserves at ORBR.

“Everyone here at VCARB is looking forward to working hard with Liam to give him the best environment possible for him to shine in our car and to express the talent we all know he has. He fit in so well last year, and we cannot wait to challenge ourselves and grow as a team. With Isack having started so strongly with us already, we know we have a young and strong line-up.”

Red Bull have revealed a special one-off livery that will adorn the RB21 during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, with the team running a striking white and red design to honour the final year of their partnership with Honda.

In an event that will see Yuki Tsunoda step up as Max Verstappen’s new team mate in front of his home crowd – following the decision to swap the Japanese driver with Liam Lawson, the latter returning to Racing Bulls – Red Bull’s challenger will pay tribute to Honda by sporting a design inspired by the RA272, which gave the engine manufacturer its inaugural win back in 1965.

The livery recreates the RA272's Japanese flag motif, featuring the ‘H’ logo on the nose and the simple Honda logo on the rear of the bodywork, while a special logo commemorating the 60th anniversary of Honda’s debut victory will be displayed on the Red Bull and Racing Bulls cars during the weekend.

"Our relationship with Honda deserves celebration, it has been one of continued success and brought the team one of the most triumphant and dominant periods in our history,” said CEO and Team Principal Christian Horner.

“Max has won four world titles with a Honda power unit, and the team have lifted two Constructors' titles. In addition, Honda's reliability enabled it to complete the most successful season in the sport's history in 2023.

“This livery is a tribute to Honda's success in the sport and the final year of what has been a thoroughly enjoyable partnership. I am looking forward to seeing it out on track."

Koji Watanabe, President of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), added: "It is quite moving to see the RA272 tribute livery on the latest Red Bull Racing machine, in the final year of Honda and Red Bull's partnership. Our successful path will continue to shine in the history of F1."

This is not the first time that Red Bull have raced in white, with the squad having previously run a special livery at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.

Ahead of the weekend’s racing action, the team – along with Racing Bulls – will take part in a show run through the streets of Tokyo on Wednesday.

Verstappen, Tsunoda, Lawson and Isack Hadjar are set to get behind the wheel of a Honda RA272, the RB16B – in which Verstappen won his first Drivers’ title powered by Honda – and two RB7s, a car that also earned double championships in 2011.

Aston Martin’s proposal to sell its shares in the Formula 1 team that bears its name is, on the surface, quite dramatic.

It signals a misleading message of ‘manufacturer wants out of F1 team ownership’, especially as Aston Martin Lagonda intends to sell its entire shareholding rather than simply divest some of it.

That is different to, say, Daimler diluting its share of the Mercedes F1 team or Renault selling part of Alpine to US investors.

However, the Aston Martin F1 team does not exist in quite the same way as those examples. Aston Martin was never the majority shareholder. This has never been Aston Martin’s team.

It has only held a minority investment since November 2023 (presumably quietly restructured around the time that US investment company Arctos Partners bought a minority shareholding) and is entitled to more in a second wave of shares totalling a value of around £74million. That's likely only in the sub-10% region in total based on what the team's valued at overall.

All that is to say Aston Martin Lagonda is effectively a glorified title partner - for which the team received just under £20m last year - of a specialist organisation headed by Lawrence Stroll, who just so happens to also head up Aston Martin Lagonda.

Stroll and his consortium represent the common link between the two entities. When he led the purchase of Force India’s assets and assumed its F1 entry, it was done under the Racing Point name. That still exists in a web of UK company registrations that “AMR GP” is housed within.

Stroll turned the F1 team into Aston Martin once he took control of the car company. Aston Martin has influence from a commercial marketing perspective, and has held its minor shareholding, but it has not controlled the team, it has not influenced car design, it does not build the engine, and so on.

Now it is seemingly looking to cash in on the value of that shareholding (and the future shares it is entitled to, the "secondary warrants") as part of the wider battle the company has faced for several years.

"Benefiting from the growing success and popularity of Formula 1, alongside this long-term sponsorship agreement, the group now proposes to sell its existing shares and the shares issuable on exercise of its secondary warrants, with a view to realising a premium to the circa £74million combined book value of these investments," the Aston Martin Lagonda proposal reads.

"As at 31 December 2024, the book value of the shares was £50.9million. The group has also held discussions with AMR GP regarding the company exercising the secondary warrants earlier than 2031, as is currently permitted, such that the shares issuable on exercise could be included in the proposed sales process.

"As at 31 December 2024 these shares had a book value of £23.2million."

But there is no suggestion that it will impact the long-term sponsorship agreement with the F1 team, which should run for another five years commencing in 2026, and no indication that plan will change - at least while the common ownership of the two Aston-branded entities remains.

Aston Martin released a statement later on Monday with further details of the sale, which will result in Stroll's shareholding in Aston Martin Lagonda increasing to 33%.

Stroll said in Monday's statement that Aston Martin had recommitted to its long-term sponsorship and licensing agreement, which he said will keep the Aston brand in F1 "for decades to come".

What is unclear is where the shares will go. The buyer of Aston Martin's F1 shares is to be determined, with investment bank Raine Group commissioned to facilitate that.

Aramco previously had a right to a 10% shareholding in the F1 team under its own sponsorship agreement, for example, so one solution could be the Saudi Arabian company finally parlays its interest into minority team ownership.

Another route could be to find a different minority investor, like with the US investment organisation that bought a significant but minority stake in the team about 18 months ago.

Ultimately, little should change in terms of the direction of the team and the ownership. The Aston Martin brand has been tapped into because of the massive potential the arrangement has for the team, for F1, and for the car company.

Success obviously hasn't materialised just yet, but what we know as the Aston Martin F1 team has been built for the long-term. And though it is unfortunate to call upon a horrible word overly used in the corporate world, there is clear synergy between Aston Martin’s car company and F1 team - at least from a marketing and commercial perspective.

The team is almost inextricably linked to the manufacturer with or without a shareholding.

And though a sale of a minor shareholding might be perceived as the first step towards disentangling the two - and would certainly simplify any change in the long-term - it is hard to see the team's future being anything other than as Aston Martin, at least in the medium-term.

Aston Martin's statement in full
Today's news underscores our Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll's long-term and unwavering commitment to both Aston Martin and the current Formula 1 team. A long-term contract is now in place to ensure the Aston Martin name remains at the pinnacle of motorsport for decades to come.

The proposed transactions, which will see Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) sell its stake in the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team (AMF1), will result in Mr Stroll increasing his shareholding in AML to 33% while strengthening the company's balance sheet by over £125m.

Mr Stroll has commissioned the investment bank Raine Group to help find a buyer for AML's stake in the Formula 1 team. Raine will work closely with AMF1's commercial chief Jeff Slack to secure a strategic investor who can add long-term value to the team and the brand.

Mr Stroll said: "These moves demonstrate that Aston Martin's place on the Formula 1 grid is as secure as ever. AML recently recommitted to its long-term sponsorship and licensing agreement with AMF1, confirming that the legendary Aston Martin brand and its British racing green colours will compete in Formula 1 for decades to come."