Speculation is intensifying that Liam Lawson's second race weekend with Red Bull may have been his last.
"Liam Lawson is already out for the next race," former F1 driver and Sky Deutschland pundit Ralf Schumacher declared.
"(Yuki) Tsunoda will replace him. It hasn't been fully confirmed yet, but that's probably how it is. And Lawson will then go back to Racing Bulls, where he's supposed to build himself up again."
In China, where Lawson was consistently the slowest driver throughout the Shanghai weekend, Tsunoda stated he was "100 per cent" prepared to step into the New Zealander's role.
The Japanese driver also expressed confidence he would be "faster".
"He can say whatever he wants," a subdued Lawson, 23, responded after a grim Chinese GP. "I've been racing him for years, I've beaten him in junior categories and I've done it in F1."
There are also suggestions that Franco Colapinto could then replace Tsunoda at Racing Bulls from Suzuka, though veteran Swiss journalist Roger Benoit remains sceptical about that. He believes Alpine is poised to install the promising Argentine rookie in Jack Doohan's seat. "For Doohan, one flop and mistake follows another," Benoit wrote in Blick newspaper.
Red Bull's leadership plans to convene this week—reportedly on Thursday—to address the troublesome RB21 car and Lawson's situation.
"There's a meeting in Milton Keynes this week where we'll discuss when and how we can close this gap," adviser Dr Helmut Marko told Servus TV. "We're worried, but we're not giving up."
Team principal Christian Horner admitted the 2025 Red Bull is notably difficult to handle, which seems to suggest that any successor to Lawson might face similar challenges.
Schumacher delivered a scathing assessment of the energy drink company's operations.
"It's pure chaos at Red Bull," the former grand prix winner said. "Not only is the main team too slow, they're also swapping drivers around like a charade. I have to say, I find it unbelievable.
"Above all, just incredibly bad from a management perspective. They're destabilising the good Racing Bulls team, which is finally doing well with both drivers, and in my opinion, they're just going to burn out Tsunoda as well, who also has no chance against Max (Verstappen)."
Schumacher added: "No matter who you put in that second car, they'll be sent home within a few races. So I'd recommend keeping Lawson in the car and instead work on making the car more competitive.
"Certainly if I was Tsunoda's manager, I wouldn't recommend him going there."
