3 F1 drivers who are fighting for their careers this season

The 2025 F1 season has already been an interesting one for many, as there are far too many things that have happened this season that many would not have expected. Amongst them, we've had the early-season swap between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.

Then we've had Jack Doohan being removed and Franco Colapinto replacing him. Of course, lest we forget, we've had Christian Horner being fired from Red Bull as well. We add it all, and we have an eventful season.

As the volatile nature of the season shows, there's still the potential of things not falling in place for some of the drivers. In this feature, we're taking a look at some of the drivers who are fighting for their careers in the second half of the season.

#1 Franco Colapinto (Alpine F1)

It's not a secret to anyone that Franco Colapinto's start to life at Alpine has been anything but good. The Argentine driver is part of a squad that has been unstable at the best of times, and this is not going to change any time soon. After Jack Doohan was bumped off the grid after just 6 races in his F1 career, Colapinto was expected to be a massive jump compared to his predecessor.

It's safe to say that both drivers performed at more or less a similar level. Colapinto has, however, shown some positive signs, as he outqualified Pierre Gasly for just the second time in the race in Hungary. With that being said, it's safe to say that the sword is hanging on his head for sure. Flavio Briatore is not famous for his patience in F1, and if the results aren't there, it's going to be a hard sell to keep the young driver in the team.

The second half of the season, if Franco Colapinto lasts for that long, is the point where the Argentinian would have to show Alpine that he can be a worthy teammate for Pierre Gasly.

#2 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

It was the Honda partnership with Red Bull that had more or less meant that Yuki Tsunoda's path to the senior team was out of the question for a long time. The Japanese driver had been backed by the power unit supplier, and his seat had been more or less a function of that.

Honda's partnership with Red Bull comes to an end in 2025, and in 2026, we will have Red Bull Powertrains supplying the PU. Yuki Tsunoda's future at the team continues to be a question mark at the same stage. Alongside Max Verstappen, you can only show so much in terms of performance.

Yuki Tsunoda's availability in 2026 depends entirely on what he's able to show Red Bull in the last 10 races. If the Japanese driver can show capability of being a worthy support for Max Verstappen, he might be able to find a seat at the team. Otherwise, with the Honda association coming to an end, Tsunoda might be an expendable asset.

#3 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

Liam Lawson's first full F1 season has been a baptism of fire of sorts, where the Kiwi has been put through the ringer in so many ways. The driver started the season as a Red Bull driver, and within two races, the squad decided that he wasn't good enough to be a part of the team.

He was promptly swapped with Yuki Tsunoda as Lawson was demoted to the sister team Racing Bulls. At this team, the Kiwi has taken his time to get on top of the issues he seemingly had with the kind of mental toll the stint at Red Bull had on him. He has scored quite a few points recently and is only 2 F1 points behind teammate Isack Hadjar in the standings.

With that being said, Red Bull is notorious for not giving drivers a second opportunity. The path back to the senior team is now as good as closed for Liam Lawson. Amongst all of this, there is a high likelihood of Arvid Lindblad making his F1 debut next season at Racing Bulls.

If the senior team persists with Yuki Tsunoda for 2026, it could trigger a chain reaction that takes Lawson out of F1 as Helmut Marko tries to make way for Lindblad. To keep his spot, the Kiwi has to definitively beat Liam Lawson in the second half of the season and end the season ahead of him.

That could potentially help him keep his seat, even though that might also not be enough when it comes to the manner in which Helmut Marko operates.