SUZUKA, Japan — Yuki Tsunoda finally has his promotion at Red Bull. That was difficult enough, elevated to the top team last week as Liam Lawson was demoted to Red Bull's No. 2 Formula 1 team — Racing Bulls — after failing to score points in the season's first two races.

Having lost his seat at Red Bull after just two grands prix, Liam Lawson wants to show he belongs in F1 with Racing Bulls and is not thinking about a future return to the top team in the stable

Laurent Mekies has no illusions about Racing Bulls' place in Formula One. The team — formerly known as Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and RB — has always existed in Red Bull's orbit; a proving ground for the energy drink-backed concern to prepare and evaluate its stable of young driving talent.

The Japanese Grand Prix is only the third Formula 1 race of the season, but several storylines are developing that promise a few twists. And they could be as fleeting

Max Verstappen opens up on Red Bull's 2025 problems and gives a cagey response to the team's driver swap in Japan

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson wished he had more time to make an impact at his former team after he was ejected from the senior team two races into the season.

Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull’s senior team a week ago in place of Liam Lawson. The two drivers were teammates at RB’s junior F1 team Racing Bulls for the final six races of the 2024 season. After Red Bull Racing moved on from Sergio Perez at the end of the season, Lawson got the call to jump up instead of Tsunoda.

The team's RB21 cars will be decked out in a Honda RA272 tribute livery, a retro scheme intended to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Honda's first F1 win.