Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson could both be dropped by Red Bull at the end of the F1 2025 season despite their improved performances at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
That is the claim of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, who reckons the pair could be moved on in favour of an Arvid Lindblad and Alex Dunne pairing at junior squad Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson to miss out on Red Bull F1 2026 reprieve?<\/p>\n
Lawson and Tsunoda, who swapped seats after the second race of the F1 2025 campaign in China, both produced their strongest performances of the season in Baku last weekend.<\/p>\n
After starting an impressive third, Lawson claimed a career-best fifth place on race day, holding off a queue of cars including Tsunoda, Lando Norris and the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n
Despite being unable to find a way past Lawson even with DRS assistance and medium tyres 18 laps fresher than Lawson\u2019s hards, Tsunoda still recorded the best result of his Red Bull career with sixth place.<\/p>\n
Analysis: Azerbaijan Grand Prix<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0Azerbaijan GP conclusions: Piastri SOS, Lando\u2019s big problem, Max\u2019s post-Horner wavelength<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Winners and losers from the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix<\/a><\/p>\n It is widely believed that Lawson\u2019s teammate Isack Hadjar will be promoted to Red Bull senior team as Max Verstappen\u2019s teammate for F1 2026, with F2 star Arvid Lindblad expected to replace Hadjar at Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n If so, that would leave one seat available alongside Lindblad at Racing Bulls for next season, with Tsunoda and Lawson both in contention to earn a reprieve.<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com revealed earlier this month that Dunne<\/a>, the McLaren junior driver currently competing in F2, has attracted the interest of Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko.<\/p>\n Marko is understood to have held face-to-face meetings with Dunne and his representatives, although it\u2019s thought these discussions have primarily been for establishing initial contact rather than being with an eye to a 2026 agreement.<\/p>\n With current race drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris under long-term contracts with the team, McLaren showed an inclination in 2024 to allow its junior drivers to take up opportunities elsewhere.<\/p>\n Former McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto was freed from his McLaren commitments at the end of last year to take up an F1 race seat with Sauber for the F1 2025 season.<\/p>\n Appearing on the Backstage Pit Lane podcast, Schumacher claimed that Lawson and Tsunoda remain at risk despite their improved showings in Baku.<\/p>\n And he argued that it is \u201ccertainly possible\u201d that Dunne could partner Lindblad at Racing Bulls for the F1 2026 season.<\/p>\n Schumacher said: \u201cBefore Baku, I would have said that both Tsunoda and Lawson were out for next season.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to give young drivers a chance, it will still be very difficult for both of them, because Hadjar could go to Red Bull and you could possibly get Alex Dunne from McLaren and also promote Arvid Lindblad to the Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would certainly be an option. But the Racing Bulls\u2019 expectations have also risen thanks to their good results.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would then be unfair if they didn\u2019t keep any drivers with F1 experience.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Yuki Tsunoda news<\/a><\/p>\n