RacingNews365 has learned that Yuki Tsunoda will take on the role of reserve driver for Red Bull Racing in 2025. This move comes after Liam Lawson was confirmed for the second seat in the team, despite only having raced in 11 Formula 1 Grand Prix, a stark contrast to Yuki, who is starting his fifth season in the junior team Visa Cash App RB.
In the domino effect that often follows F1 announcements like this, the vacant seat next to Yuki was filled by Isack Hadjar after his successful F2 campaign, which earned him the vice-champion title. The moves left only one question unanswered: who will be the reserve driver for Visa Cash App RB? It seems that the position could go to Ayumu Iwasa, another promising Red Bull junior.
There is a chance we could see all of these drivers in action this year, with Max Verstappen set to become a father and facing an impending race ban after accumulating eight penalty points during the 2024 season. Drivers are allowed 12 penalty points before receiving a one-race ban, which resets their points, as we saw with Kevin Magnussen in Baku last year. The first two of Max’s penalty points expire in June, and with FIA tightening the sporting regulations, which led to a recent rule change on misconduct, there is a long way to go before summer.
Liam’s position in the team is also not guaranteed either, and he knows well he will have a target on his back from the very first race. He is up against the most successful driver under the latest regulations, which are coming to an end this season, and he has a line of young and fast drivers behind him, hungry for his seat.
If we see Yuki in the main team and Ayumu in the junior one, there is still another Red Bull-branded driver who stands out among the rest of their Junior Program. Arvid Lindblad is currently racing in Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship (FROC) and is dominating the series. It consists of five feature races, and no driver before has managed to win them all, despite the graduates including the likes of Lando Norris. Arvid Lindblad could be the first to do so, having already won three of them, with last two coming up in the next two weeks.
Lindblad finished fourth in the Formula 3 championship last year and already has a Formula 2 seat reserved in Campos, virtually taking the seat that Isack Hadjar just left. With Pepe Marti taking the other Campos seat, they create a fully Red Bull-branded line up. Arvid also had his first outing in an F1 car, although it was only a few promotional laps during the Red Bull Showrun in Houston. His real F1 debut in free practice sessions could be right around the corner though, if he manages to get thirty Superlicence points needed to partake in an F1 weekend. His age isn’t a problem either, with the FIA changing the crucial rule that a driver needs to be eighteen to receive a Superlicence just last year.
Eight out of twenty drivers on the current grid are or have been affiliated with Red Bull, not including Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo, who departed in 2024. While the team can develop drivers talented enough for F1, they seem unable to find stability in any of their driver pairings at the pinnacle of motorsports. Will Liam, Yuki, and Ayumu all finish this season?