The Bulls of Formula 1 Fill Their Empty Seats
Following Red Bull Racing parting ways with Sergio Perez only three days ago, a seat needed to be filled; someone had to drive alongside four-time World Champion Max Verstappen. Although intimidating shoes to fill, Red Bull Racing pulled a young driver from their sister team, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, promoting him to the main team. 22-year-old Liam Lawson is set to drive for the 2025 season as the second driver for Red Bull Racing. With the now open seat at VCARB, the team announced that Formula 2 and Red Bull junior team driver Isack Hadjar would join the 2025 grid.
Liam Lawson recently joined the grid to replace Daniel Ricciardo and compete alongside Yuki Tsunoda at VCARB in late September. From 2022 until his promotion to join the grid, Lawson was VCARB's reserve driver, making his Formula 1 debut in the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix to replace an injured Ricciardo. With only six races under his belt with VCARB, Red Bull Racing put the youngster with Verstappen, which sparked some controversies within the racing community. Tsunoda has driven for Red Bull's sister team for four years, where he’s seen numerous teammates come and go. Due to his loyalty and performance through the years, fans expected Tsunoda to fill the spot left at Red Bull, however, the team had other plans. Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, claimed that the choice between Lawson and Tsunoda was almost too close to call. Still, Lawson's attitude and ability to handle pressure gave him a slight edge over his teammate.
Lawson's replacement, Isack Hadjar, is a new face to the Formula 1 grid. The Formula 2 impressed everyone during this year's competition after finishing runner-up in only his second season racing in the championship. As a driver for the Red Bull junior team, Hadjar is no stranger to the Formula 1 car, as he made his free practice debut in 2023 for Scuderia AlphaTauri before returning to race for Red Bull in 2024's Abu Dhabi FP1. Following his impressive 2024 season and his experiences in F1 practices, Hadjar's promotion worked perfectly to find Tsunoda a new teammate urgently. With big shoes to fill and incredible racers competing against them, Hadjar and Lawson are likely feeling the pressure, but with their skills and team help, the two are sure to impress.
