An F1 journalist has revealed what other F1 drivers have said 'off the record' about Liam Lawson's demotion from Red Bull to Racing Bulls.
Red Bull announced on Thursday that Lawson has swapped with Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda with immediate effect after just two races with the main team.
The New Zealander was chosen to be Sergio Perez's replacement ahead of the 2025 season, but failed to score a point in either of his two race weekends.
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Red Bull held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss Lawson's future after the Chinese Grand Prix and, reportedly using data points from both races compared to team-mate Max Verstappen, decided to make the decision from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards.
Lawson reacted to the announcement on Thursday evening, writing on Instagram: "Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it's what I've worked towards my whole life.
"It's tough, but I'm grateful for everything that's brought me to this point. To every one of you who's stood by me, thank you for all your support, it means the world.
"Thank you Racing Bulls for the warm welcome, I'm excited and ready to go to work at one of my favourite places."
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Lawson has significant experience of the Suzuka circuit in Japan, having raced there extensively during his time racing in the Super Formula category.
He will now also be driving a car that more suits his driving style compared to the second Red Bull.
His now former team-mate Verstappen appeared to make his feelings clear on the decision to drop the Kiwi, 'liking' an Instagram post from former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde which criticised Red Bull.
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And an F1 journalist has revealed how other drivers reacted.
Lawrence Barretto, who works for F1's official broadcast arm F1TV, has revealed that Lawson's rivals noticed that he had been 'very different' to the character they saw last year and that his 'confidence has dropped'.
He explained: "When I've talked to his rival drivers, other team bosses, they agree that Liam hasn't suddenly become a very bad driver.
"What has changed over the last couple of races is that they've noticed that his confidence has dropped.
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"His demeanour had changed, he felt quite low, very downbeat.
"He was different to the character we saw last year. [Then] He was uber-confident and was performing at a really high level.
"Red Bull could see that that confidence had dropped quite significantly, quite quickly."
Topics: Formula 1, Liam Lawson, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Ryan Smart