The news was first reported on Tuesday by Canal+ and Dutch newspaper De Limburger but only now the team has made it official. Tsunoda will take Lawson’s place alongside Max Verstappen, starting with next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Lawson’s time with Red Bull did not go well. In the first race in Australia, he crashed and did not finish. In the second race in China, he was the slowest in both qualifying sessions and finished without any points.

Meanwhile, Verstappen has already scored 36 points, even though he is also having problems with the car. Red Bull had hoped Lawson would be able to perform better, especially because he showed strong results at the end of last season. But after two very difficult races, the team has decided to make a change.

A big reason behind this switch is support from Honda, the Japanese manufacturer that makes engines for Red Bull. Honda has supported Tsunoda’s career for years and was ready to pay Red Bull millions of euros to help get him a seat in the top team. Although Red Bull first said no to this offer before the season started, they have now changed their mind. With the team needing more points to stay ahead in the Constructors’ Championship, they are now accepting Honda’s support to bring Tsunoda in.

Tsunoda is getting this chance after four years at the sister team, and he will now race for the main team in front of his home fans in Japan. He did get to drive a Red Bull car in a test at the end of last year and reportedly did a good job, but the team still chose Lawson at that time. Now, things have changed. Lawson will return to Racing Bulls, and Tsunoda will take his place at Red Bull.