OPINION: Lucky Liam

Things could have been much worse for Liam Lawson.

Being dropped back to the B Team at The Bulls, in a straight swap for feisty Yuki Tsunoda, could have saved his Formula One career.

Imagine if he had been allowed to advance to the Japanese Grand Prix, or even further, and continued to flounder as Max Verstappen's team-mate in the meat grinder created by the troublesome RB21.

Even Verstappen admits the new car can be evil.

And we know what has happened in the past to youngsters who could get close to Verstappen or – even worse – satisfy the crazy tough demands of Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.

Returning to the Racing Bulls, where he first entered Formula One as the replacement for Daniel Ricciardo – sound familiar? – he will be in a straightforward contest with fellow newbie Isack Hadjar.

The French rookie is just as feisty as Tsunoda and has been doing well, qualifying inside the Top 10, in a car which seems much more user-friendly than the beastly Bull.

But there is more to the story . . .

Honda is paying millions to grease Tsunoda's slide into the RB21 and he is heading to Red Bull Racing at his home race in Japan, on a track he knows well.

It all looks good.

The driver swap also comes with a surprising amount of consideration by Red Bull, notably team principal Christian Horner who had his own personal battles in season 2024.

He says the Bulls have a "duty of care to protect and develop Liam".

But the driver swap also puts Tsunoda into the hot seat alongside Verstappen, not just on the driving front but also as his new teams struggles to get competitive with its 2025 car.

"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," says Horner.