F1 drivers dropped by Red Bull following Liam Lawson's demotion

Liam Lawson is the latest casualty of Red Bull's ruthless driver management after losing his seat just two races into the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The New Zealander will swap places with Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda and return to Red Bull's second team, Racing Bulls, from the next race in Japan.

Lawson, who was only promoted to the Red Bull team in December following the termination of Sergio Perez's contract, has endured a torrid start to the season which ultimately resulted in Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner sanctioning his demotion.

Qualifying 18th in Australia, Lawson crashed out in the first race of the campaign and his fortunes failed to improve in China as he slumped to 14th and 12th in the sprint and race respectively.

Red Bull are notoriously cutthroat when it comes to managing underperforming drivers but even by their standards, the decision to relegate Lawson to the Racing Bulls team after two races is an extraordinary one.

With Lawson's stint at Red Bull set to go down as the shortest in F1 history, we've looked at the other drivers who have suffered a similar fate to the 23-year-old.

Christian Klien

Red Bull career: 2005-2006 (30 races)

Red Bull's unremorseful approach to driver management dates back to their entry into F1 and Christian Klien was their first prodigy to be undermined by the Austrian constructor.

Driving for Jaguar in 2004, Klien was retained following Red Bull's purchase to partner David Coulthard. Despite an impressive start, the team opted to replace him with Vitantonio Liuzzi for four races.

Fortunately for Klien, he was back in the Red Bull seat from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards and a string of strong performances ensured lightning didn't strike twice with Liuzzi waiting in the wings.

The Austrian retained his spot alongside Coulthard for the subsequent season, although his Red Bull allegiance proved to be short-lived as he was fired with three races of the campaign remaining before joining Honda as a test driver.

Daniil Kvyat

Red Bull career: 2015-2016 (23 races)

Daniil Kvyat is the most notable victim of Red Bull's merciless handling of drivers.

The Russian was promoted to Red Bull following an applaudable rookie term with Toro Rosso and Kvyat maintained his form with the senior team as he outscored teammate Daniel Ricciardo in his first season.

It all deteriorated from there. Branded a 'torpedo' by Sebastian Vettel following their collision in China, Kvyat felt the wrath of the German in the Russian Grand Prix as he hit Vettel twice, forcing the Ferrari driver into the barriers and inadvertently jeopardise Ricciardo's race.

Kvyat's Sochi antics proved to be his last act in a Red Bull as he was abruptly demoted for Max Verstappen ahead of the next race in Spain.

If the ignominy of losing his Red Bull drive wasn't enough, Kvyat's form plummeted and he was replaced by Brendon Hartley at Toro Rosso prior to the season's conclusion.

Pierre Gasly

Red Bull career: 2019 (12 races)

Pierre Gasly was hot property following an excellent maiden season in F1 and Ricciardo's switch to Renault paved the way for his promotion to the Red Bull team for 2019.

Immediately on the backfoot after failing to score points in the season-opening Australian GP, Gasly fell considerably short of Verstappen's pace and his position came under increasing scrutiny when he was lapped by his teammate at the Hungarian GP.

Despite Christian Horner and Helmut Marko refuting claims Gasly would be dropped, the Frenchman was demoted back to the Toro Rosso team during the summer break.

Gasly responded to the setback with great professionalism and there was some salvation for him at the Brazilian GP as he finished on the podium for the first time in his career.

His successor, Alex Albon, retained the seat for the 2020 campaign but was eventually replaced by Sergio Perez.

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