Red Bull announced that Liam Lawson has been dropped and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, confirming days of speculation following disappointing performances in the first two F1 races of the season.
Tsunoda will step in for the New Zealander starting at his home Japanese Grand Prix next week in Suzuka, Red Bull said in a statement.
The 24-year-old Tsunoda moves up from the Racing Bulls (RB) sister team to partner four-time world champion Max Verstappen, with Lawson returning to RB, where he raced last season.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said, "It has been tough watching Liam struggle with the RB21 in the first two races, and as a result, we’ve made the collective 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."
Lawson, 23, who was drafted in from RB in the winter to replace Sergio Perez, has endured a difficult start to the season and life at one of the top teams on the grid.
He has been knocked out in the first stage of all three qualifying sessions and has yet to score a point.
Verstappen, in the other Red Bull, is second in the title race with 36 points, eight behind early-season leader Lando Norris of McLaren.
"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 Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well," Horner added.
Tsunoda has shown pace in both race weekends of the season. He was 12th in the season opener in Melbourne and only finished out of the points Sunday in Shanghai because of RB's flawed two-stop pit strategy.
Tsunoda made his Formula One debut with AlphaTauri in 2021, becoming the first Japanese driver on the grid since Kamui Kobayashi in 2014.
"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," Horner said.
"We welcome him to the team and are looking forward to seeing him behind the wheel of the RB21."
Tsunoda began racing karts at the age of 4 in his native Kanagawa, just outside Tokyo.
He stands just 1.61 meters tall (5 feet 3 inches), and his diminutive frame forced AlphaTauri engineers to develop a custom pedal kit to make him more comfortable in the cockpit.
Tsunoda used to be known for his four-letter outbursts on the team radio but displayed newfound self-control last year, which helped his performances.
Away from racing, he tries to relax by snowboarding and playing video games, which he describes as "training" for keeping his cool on the track.
"His progress last year, and more recently from the very start of 2025, has been nothing less than sensational," Laurent Mekies, team principal of RB, said in a statement Thursday.
He added: "Everyone here at (the team) is looking forward to working hard with Liam to give him the best environment possible to shine in our car and express the talent we all know he has."
Lawson will partner with France's Isack Hadjar at RB.
