Lawson: Japanese GP a big opportunity for me

After only two races with Red Bull Racing, Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda following extremely poor performances as the Milton Keynes squad continue their search for a driver that can tame their RB21 alongside Max Verstappen.

Lawson commented on his demotion, insisting it was tough but is now gearing up to race at Suzuka with the Racing Bulls. He said: "I'm really looking forward to be racing in Japan this weekend.

"Suzuka is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar. It's cool to drive and very high speed, which makes it great fun in a Formula One car.

"This weekend is a big opportunity for me as I rejoin Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, and I'm very excited to work with this team again. As always, I'll be giving it everything I have," Lawson concluded.

Lawson's first order of business will be to beat his new teammate and Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar, who—despite his formation lap crash in Melbourne—has done a decent job so far.

Hadjar is looking forward to racing a Formula 1 car around Suzuka for the first time in his career; he commented: "I'm really excited to be in Japan, which is probably my favourite country to visit on the calendar.

"I have already driven at Suzuka, and even if it was a while ago, it is still my favourite track along with Monaco. I think driving here for the first time in a Formula One car, it is going to feel ridiculously fast.

"I am keen to see what we can achieve as a team because, in the first two race weekends we seemed to have a lot of pace, so the plan is to replicate that again and fight for more points," Hadjar concluded.