Jun 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Alpine driver Franco Colapinto (43) during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

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2025 Formula 1 Season- Are Mid-Season Driver Changes a Failed Manoeuvre?

A deep dive into the mid-season driver swap and their effects on the teams and drivers

Jun 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Alpine driver Franco Colapinto (43) during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Halfway past the 2025 Formula 1 season, teams and drivers have already found their groove. After the Hungary GP, it is clear which teams and drivers are going to perform in the championship and the upcoming races. During this season, there were two mid-season driver changes in Red Bull Racing and Alpine. A decision taken by teams to ensure their progress in the championship.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing made a swap between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. Lawson, racing for Red Bull Racing, was demoted back to Racing Bulls owing to his failures in the previous Grand Prix. Same way, Jack Doohan ended up getting demoted from his seat at Alpine in favor of Franco Colapinto. Colapinto, initially racing on a five-race contract from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, will spend the entire season with Alpine. Similarly, Red Bull Racing chose to opt Yuki Tsunoda for completing the 2025 season.

Yuki Tsunoda- Is the Japanese Driver Faring Better or Worse Than Liam Lawson?

There was a lot of hype surrounding Yuki Tsunoda since the pre-season in 2025. When Sergio Pérez was going to depart from the team, it was clear that Tsunoda would be the first choice. Instead, Yuki Tsunoda was going to stay at Racing Bulls for the 2025 season. Liam Lawson, who was partnering the Japanese driver in Racing Bulls, became Perez’s replacement in 2025.

Unfortunately for Liam Lawson, he was not able to achieve any results in the first two races of the season. This led to his prompt removal from the team. Yuki Tsunoda was brought in as his replacement for the rest of the season.

"I had no idea in China"

Here's Liam Lawson on when he found out about his demotion from Red Bull Racing 👇#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/OppHqmChMK
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 3, 2025

While the move was celebrated initially, it led to almost no results for the upcoming races. Since his arrival in the team, Tsunoda has never once seen the Top-5. Moreover, the Japanese driver finds it difficult to bring home points during the race.

The sudden swap also took a toll on Liam Lawson’s confidence. Liam was initially unable to perform at the Racing Bulls failing to score better than rookie, Isack Hadjar. However, in the recent races he has been gaining his form back.

Liam Lawson vs Yuki Tsunoda H2H- After Driver Swap

	Liam Lawson	Yuki Tsunoda
Points	20	10
Top-10s	4	3
Best Race Finish	P6	P9
Best Qualifying Finish	P6	P7

Franco Colapinto- Is the Argentine any Better than Jack Doohan?

Franco Colapinto was Williams’ one hit wonder during the 2025 season. The Argentine driver was able to grab some quick points for the team replacing Logan Sergeant in the past few races of the 2024 season. Seeing his performance, Alpine made him their reserve driver for the 2025 season. However, contrary to popular belief Alpine went forth with Jack Doohan in their starting lineup.

Initially, Jack Doohan was unable to bring forth results for the team. He was also crashing out his car more than acceptable by Alpine. With a ruthless team principal like Flavio Briatore, Doohan was not going to stay at the team for long.

BREAKING: Franco Colapinto to race at least the next five races for Alpine in place of Jack Doohan#F1 pic.twitter.com/HLarDPmYP8
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 7, 2025

The team immediately subbed him after six races. It was said that Franco Colapinto was going to drive for the team for the upcoming five races. Since then, Colapinto has been the permanent choice for the remainder of Alpine’s 2025 season. There’s no reports or news about the future of Jack Doohan.

Ultimately, Alpine could not achieve what they wanted with Colapinto. They also put Doohan’s career in jeopardy with a big shunt in his rookie season.

Alpine F1

Formula 1

Formula 1 2025 Season

Franco Colapinto

Jack Doohan

Liam Lawson

Red Bull Racing

Yuki Tsunoda

Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.