A Kiwi motorsport expert says it would be "very harsh" and unprecedented if Liam Lawson is dropped from the Red Bull Formula 1 team after just two races.
Lawson is once again the centre of attention and speculation with reports from Dutch media suggesting the 23-year-old New Zealander will be axed from his team's number two car and returned to the Racing Bulls team.
His New Zealand-based management told 1News they were unaware of any announcement from Red Bull, but it's understood the F1 team is known to use the media to leak information.
Motorsport analyst Bob McMurray, who spent three decades at McLaren, said that while Lawson's possible demotion was still "speculation", there were so many reports that he knew "something was happening".
"It's not looking as if it's in Liam's favour. Call it move aside, call it dropped, call it what you want."
The move would be unprecedented even by Red Bull's standards.
McMurray said removing a driver after just two Grand Prix, a sprint race, and three qualification sessions was "a very harsh move" and a "very unusual circumstance".
While nothing has been confirmed, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf dropped the news today, reporting a "top meeting of Red Bull" involving high-profile shareholders and backers.
De Telegraaf said several sources had confirmed that Lawson had "definitely" been sidelined from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards. ESPN reported the news would be made official later this week.
Difficult start to the season
It's been a difficult start to the Kiwi's first full-time F1 season, where he has struggled to get any pace out of his RB21.
In the first race weekend of the season in Melbourne, Lawson was eliminated in Q1 and was one of several drivers who failed to finish the race, crashing with 10 laps to go. His teammate, world champion Max Verstappen, finished second.
Lawson could not improve his situation at the Chinese Grand Prix over the weekend, qualifying 20th for both the sprint and main race. Starting from the pit, Lawson climbed to 15th, but three disqualifications lifted him to 12th, still outside the points. Lawson finished 14th in the sprint. Verstappen finished fourth in the main race and third in the sprint.
McMurray said Lawson's possible demotion or axing would do "nothing good initially", but it all depended on what he did next.
"Does Yuki Tsunoda, or whoever it is, get in that seat and fail completely, whereas Liam gets back into [Racing Bulls] car and does very well?
"Well then, it's not a bad thing for Liam at all because he's saying, 'There you go, why have you nurtured me all these years just to put me in something that doesn't handle?'."
It would be unprecedented, even by Red Bull's standards, to drop Lawson after just two races.
Verstappen's fifth teammate
Lawson is Verstappen's fifth teammate at Red Bull in 10 years. The shortest spell was for Pierre Gasley, who was cut after 12 races, nine of which he finished in the points.
McMurray described Red Bull as a very "cut-throat, unusual team".
"They don't brook failure at all. But I think they brought the failure on themselves anyway because the engineers simply haven't given him a car or a chance to drive what he can drive."
While Lawson has admitted his results this season haven't been up to standard, it was hoped next week's race in Japan would signal a fair run since Suzuka is a track he knows well.
"Neither driver would be a stranger to the Suzuka Circuit. So I think to give him another race would be the right thing to do," McMurray said.
SHARE ME