Liam Lawson is set to be brutally relegated on the Formula 1 grid from Red Bull to junior team Racing Bulls.
The move comes after Yuki Tsunoda was last year overlooked for the seat after Sergio Perez was let go as world champion Max Verstappen’s partner at the team.
Tsunoda is set to replace Lawson at the senior team ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old from New Zealand is one of five drivers yet to register a point in the solo standings despite teammate Verstappen having 36 after two full races and a sprint race.
Lawson DNF’d in the opening race of the year in Melbourne, Australia, before finishing 14th in the sprint race and 12th in the main race at the Shanghai International Circuit in China.
The move is one that demonstrates the cutthroat world that is Formula 1, with every point counting towards the team title – where the majority of the prize money is dished out.
“There’s always going to be speculation in the paddock. As I say, we’ve only just finished the race here. We’ll take away the info and have a good look at it,” Red Bull Christian Horner stated after rumours emerged in China.
“Liam [Lawson] is obviously confidence-wise struggling with the car at the moment, which is why we made some significant changes today to see if we could find a more confidence-inspiring set-up for him.
“I think Liam still has got potential, we’re just not realising that at the moment. I think the problem for him is, he’s had a couple of really tough weekends, he’s got all the media on his back.
“The pressure just naturally grows in this business, and I feel very sorry for him. You can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.
“He’s a young guy, we’ve got a duty to look after him and we’re going to do the best that we can to support him.”