Losing Red Bull seat so quickly is 'tough, it was my dream since I was a kid'

Liam Lawson has made his first comment since Red Bull confirmed he will no longer drive for them this year.

Red Bull announced today it had dropped Lawson from its race team line-up in favour of his former team mate Yuki Tsunoda. The pair will swap seats, with Lawson returning to Racing Bulls.

“Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole life,” said Lawson in a social media post. “It’s tough, but I’m grateful for everything that’s brought me to this point.

“To every one of you who’s stood by me, thank you for all the support it means the world.”

Lawson’s ousting from the team was widely expected following his poor result in last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix. Over two rounds and three races he never progressed beyond the first stage of qualifying once and scored no points.

Before joining Red Bull he made 11 appearances for Racing Bulls, then known as RB, over the previous two seasons. He said he’s “excited and ready to go to work at one of my favourite places.”

The swap leaves Racing Bulls with two drivers who have started just 14 grands prix between them. Isack Hadjar started his first grand prix last week in Shanghai after crashing on the formation lap a week earlier in Melbourne.

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Team principal Laurent Mekies said the team will “work hard with Liam to give him the best environment possible for him to shine in our car and to express the talent we all know he has.”

“He fit in so well last year, and we cannot wait to challenge ourselves and grow as a team. With Isack having started so strongly with us already, we know we have a young and strong line-up.”