Formula 1

10 Notable F1 Drivers Who Were Replaced Mid-Season As Red Bull Consider Dropping Liam Lawson

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By
Kieran Lynch
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Kieran Lynch Sports Editor

Kieran Lynch is a sports writer specialising in football and Formula One. He is a sports journalism graduate of Leeds Trinity University and completed a Press Association NCTJ course in Newcastle. He previously worked as a news reporter for the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk and spent five years as a sports writer at the MailOnline.

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Published25 Mar 2025

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Red Bull are considering swapping Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda after just two races of the 2025 season, so SportsCasting has decided to take a look at 10 notable times when F1 drivers were replaced mid-season.

Red Bull Consider Swapping Liam Lawson With Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull are seriously considering swapping Liam Lawson with Racing Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda from the Japanese Grand Prix which takes place in just under two weeks.

New Zealander Lawson has endured a dismal start to his Red Bull career.

He has been knocked out at the first stage of all three qualifying sessions so far. While his race pace has also been significantly down on his four-time world champion teammate Max Verstappen.

Red Bull opted to promote Lawson as Sergio Perez’s replacement this season over Tsunoda. That was despite the Japanese driver largely outperforming Lawson over their six races as teammates in 2024.

Team principal Christian Horner did not dismiss reports that Lawson could be replaced after the Chinese Grand Prix.

He said: “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.”

Below, are 10 other moments in F1 history where drivers were replaced mid-season.

F1 Drivers Who Were Replaced Mid-Season

Bertrand Gachot And Roberto Moreno (Both Replaced By Michael Schumacher In 1991)

During the 1991 F1 season, two drivers at two different teams were both replaced by Michael Schumacher in back-to-back races.

However, the reasons for why they were replaced were very different.

Eddie Jordan hired Schumacher after he was forced to find a replacement for Bertrand Gachot at the Belgium Grand Prix after he was jailed for an altercation with a London taxi driver.

Schumacher immediately showed his promise by qualifying 7th – although he retired on the opening lap with a mechanical failure.

Eddie Jordan thought he had Schumacher tied up to a long-term contract. However, at the next race the German was driving for Benetton.

Schumacher replaced Roberto Moreno at the Italian Grand Prix, and would win two titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995.

There was a lengthy dispute between Jordan and Schumacher. As per GrandPrix.com, this was settled in 1997 with Schumacher reportedly paying Jordan around $1m.

Michael Schumacher replaced Bertrand Gachot at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher (Replaced By Miko Salo For Six Races In 1999)

F1 legend Michael Schumacher was replaced by Mika Salo at Ferrari during the 1999 season after he broke his leg at the British Grand Prix.

The German suffered a rear brake failure going into Stowe Corner and crashed heavily into a tyre wall.

Salo was quick to get up to speed and looked on course for victory at the German Grand Prix. However, he had to let teammate Eddie Irvine through as the Irishman was battling Mika Hakkinen for the drivers’ championship.

Schumacher returned in Malaysia and also had to drive the No 2 role to boost Irvine’s chances.

The German helped Irvine win the Malaysian Grand Prix but Mika Hakkinen won the title after victory in Japan.

Jarno Trulli (Replaced By Jacques Villeneuve In 2004)

Jarno Trulli was sacked by Renault during the 2004 season despite being the only driver other than Michael Schumacher to win across the opening 13 races of the season.

The Italian took the only victory of his career at the Monaco Grand Prix after an excellent defensive drive.

His form declined after he was blasted by his bosses after losing 3rd place on the final lap of the French Grand Prix.

He failed to score a single point over the next five races and was sacked by Renault with three races to go.

Trulli was replaced by 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve who didn’t fare much better. Trulli would move to Toyota where he stayed until they left the sport at the end of 2009.

Jarno Trulli was replaced by Renault in 2004

Juan Pablo Montoya (Replaced by Pedro de la Rosa In 2006)

Juan Pablo Montoya was one of the most exciting drivers of the early 2000s and viewed by some as a future world champion.

However, his F1 career went backwards after deciding to leave Williams for McLaren in 2005.

He was outperformed by Kimi Raikkonen during the 2005 season despite winning three races and by 2006 he had lost his love for the sport.

After a huge crash at the United States Grand Prix at the 10th race of the season, Montoya announced that he would be leaving immediately to race in NASCAR for the 2007 season.

Montoya was replaced by Pedro de la Rosa for the final eight races, and the Spaniard finished second at a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix.

He hoped to keep his drive for 2007 but was replaced by a certain Lewis Hamilton.

Jacques Villeneuve (Replaced By Robert Kubica In 2006)

Jacques Villeneuve’s F1 career ended after the 2006 German Grand Prix when BMW Sauber decided to replace him with Robert Kubica.

The 1997 champion took just seven points in his 12 races that season and was well off the pace compared to his teammate Nick Heidfeld.

Villeneuve complained of headaches after a crash at the German Grand Prix and was deemed unfit to race by his team.

Kubica finished third in just his second race and would keep the seat for the rest of the season.

Jacques Villeneuve was replaced in 2006 by Robert Kubica. Credit: Legends Of Motorsport via Wikimedia Commons

Scott Speed (Replaced By Sebastian Vettel In 2007)

Despite his surname, Scott Speed was replaced mid-way into his second season with Toro Rosso due to his lack of pace.

The American driver failed to score a single point in 28 outings with the team and drove his final race for them at the 2007 European Grand Prix.

He was replaced by German sensation Sebastian Vettel, who had scored points while filling in for Robert Kubica at the United States Grand Prix.

Vettel’s pace was obvious for all to see and he was in contention for victory at the Japanese Grand Prix. However, his stellar drive was ended after he crashed into the back of Mark Webber’s Red Bull.

He made up for it though by finishing 4th at the Chinese Grand Prix, and would win his first F1 race at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel replaced Scott Speed in 2007

Nelson Piquet (Replaced By Romain Grosjean in 2009)

The most acrimonious departure from a F1 team on this list was Nelson Piquet Jr after he was sacked by Renault during the 2009 season.

Son of triple-world champion Nelson Sr, Piquet Jr struggled to get to grips with Formula One.

On August 3, 2009, Piquet announced he had been sacked by Renault. In an angry statement, he slammed both the team and their owner Flavio Briatore insisting that he had not received the same treatment as teammate Fernando Alonso.

By the end of the month, reports had come out that the team had told Piquet to crash on purpose during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix – which brought out the safety car and helped teammate Alonso take victory after he made an early pit stop.

Renault received a two-year suspended disqualification from F1, while Briatore left the team in September 2009.

Piquet’s replacement Romain Grosjean failed to score a point in the final seven races of the 2009 season and would go back to the GP2 series – where he spent two years before returning to the F1 team in 2012.

Daniil Kvyat (Replaced By Max Verstappen In 2016)

After impressing at Red Bull’s junior team in 2015, Max Verstappen replaced Daniil Kvyat after just four races in 2016.

Kvyat had done a solid job at Red Bull. He outscored Daniel Ricciardo in 2015 but was outpaced more often than not by the Australian.

He also took a podium in the third race of 2016 in China. However, in the fourth race in his native Russia, he crashed twice into Sebastian Vettel in a matter of corners and finished a lap down.

Red Bull were criticised for their decision to drop Kvyat. But with Ferrari and Mercedes lurking over the hottest rising star in the sport, the team opted to promote Verstappen.

Their decision was instantly justified after he won his first race for Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. This made Verstappen the youngest race winner in F1 history – a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon.

Ironically, Verstappen is now in a relationship with Kvyat’s ex-girlfriend Kelly Piquet.

Max Verstappen won his first race with Red Bull after replacing Daniil Kvyat in 2016

Pierre Gasly (Replaced by Alex Albon In 2019)

Frenchman Pierre Gasly was promoted from Toro Rosso to Red Bull in 2019 after Daniel Ricciardo made the shock decision to Renault.

However, he endured a frustrating 12-race stint with Red Bull. Gasly scored just 61 points in that time compared to Verstappen who had achieved a mammoth 181 and was third in the championship.

Red Bull opted to swap Gasly with Alex Albon who had impressed for Toro Rosso in his debut season of F1.

Red Bull were perhaps justified in their decision given that Albon scored 72 points in nine races for Red Bull.

However, like Gasly who proceeded him and Sergio Perez who followed, none of them could compete with Verstappen’s speed.

Pierre Gasly was replaced by Alex Albon back in 2019

Daniel Ricciardo (Replaced By Liam Lawson In 2024)

The last F1 driver on this list to be axed mid-season was replaced by Liam Lawson – who finds himself at risk of losing his seat this year.

Daniel Ricciardo started 2024 with hopes of being promoted to Red Bull for 2025.

However, it was a tough year for the Australian who struggled to match the pace of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Ricciardo drove his final race at the Singapore Grand Prix which is likely the last of his career.

Lawson drove the final six races for the Racing Bulls team, taking points in Austin and Brazil.

The New Zealander was promoted to Red Bull but after two races he could lose his seat to Tsunoda.