Red Bull boss Christian Horner has addressed speculation that Kiwi Formula One driver Liam Lawson could be replaced by rival Yuki Tsunoda. 

In his second racing weekend in the Red Bull set-up, Lawson finished outside the points in China, leading to various media reports that he could be swapped with Racing Bulls driver Tsunoda for the Japanese Grand Prix in a fortnight. 

After qualifying for both the Grand Prix and sprint races in 20th, Lawson at the very least finished both without major incident, finishing 15th in the feature race at the Shanghai International Circuit yesterday, before being upgraded to 12th through three disqualifications. 

Lawson’s teammate Max Verstappen was unable to gain any positions from his qualifying display on Saturday, and took fourth. That leaves Red Bull sitting third in the Constructors' standings, already 42 points back from rivals McLaren. 

“I think Liam’s had a tough couple of races, a tough weekend here,” Horner said. 

“We elected to take him off the grid, out of Parce Ferme, to do a significant set-up change, so we managed to get 56 laps of reasonable data from that. Obviously, we’ll take that away, we’ll have a good look at it, and as a group we’ll do our best to support him.” 

Horner said any suggestion they would replace Lawson was “purely speculative”. 

“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. 

“Look, I think everything is purely speculative at the moment. As I say, we’ve just finished this race, we’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it. 

“I think Liam still has got potential, we’re just not realising that at the moment. I think the problem for him is he’s had a couple of really tough weekends and he’s got all the media on his back. 

“The pressure just naturally grows in this business. I feel very sorry for him that he’s… you can see it’s very tough on him at the moment. 

“He’s a young guy, we’ve got a duty to look after him. We’re going to do the best that we can to support him. Liam’s still a very capable driver, we know that, we’re just not… for whatever reason, we’re not seeing him able to deliver that at the moment.” 

Asked if Tsunoda would be the “prime candidate” for Red Bull, Horner wouldn’t comment. 

Horner stated: “I’m not even going to comment on a change, because that will be your first headline. 

“As I say, we’re two races into this championship, we have a sample of two [races]. We have quite a bit of information, so we’re going to go away and have a good look at it, work with Liam, and do the best we can for him. 

“There’s so much info [available], how he’s adapted driving the car, what he’s getting from the car, what we can do to help, where were his major issues, what’s causing the inconsistency… all of those issues.”