SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — No one knows better than Liam Lawson how quickly things can change in results-driven, money-driven Formula 1.
Last week the New Zealander was suddenly demoted to Racing Bulls after two poor Formula 1 races with the top team — Red Bull — in Australia and China to start the season.
Lawson had qualified 18th at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix but crashed out of the race; in China he qualified last for both the sprint race and the main event, finishing 14th and 12th.
Japanese Yuki Tsunoda, who was passed over for promotion a few months ago when Lawson was picked for the top team, is replacing Lawson in a driver swap.
Lawson was asked at a media conference Thursday, ahead of Sunday's Japanese GP, if the thought he could get promoted back to the top team.
“Yeah, I guess that’s part of the conversation,” he said. "In a way — that’s great, but I was already there.”
His tone suggested another promotion didn't seem likely. And Tsunoda is also under pressure. He must perform and deliver as a teammate of four-time defending champion Max Verstappen.
“Whatever happens down the line is more or less out of my control," Lawson added. “What I can control is the driving stuff — and to prove that. Where the future is at this point, I don't think about it too much.”
Lawson attributes part of his failure in the first two races to unfamiliar circuits. He was hoping to show off at Suzuka, where he raced in Formula 1 in 2023.
“I was more surprised" about the sudden demotion, he said. “It’s very early in the season and I would say I was hoping to go to a track that I’d raced before and have a chance.”
Ironially, that advantage falls to Tsunoda, who's in his fifth season in Formula 1 and who knows the Suzuka track in central Japan as well as any driver.
“For Yuki, obviouly it’s a great opportunity and on a track that he’s done a lot," Lawson said. “He'll — I”m sure — probably be more comfortable.”
Interestingly, Formula 1 made both drivers available at Thursday press conferences, but not in the same one. Tsunoda appeared after Lawson spoke in the first 30-minute session.
Lawson said he learned of his demotion last Monday or Tuesday, just after the Chinese GP. He said he took a call and was told what was happening.
“It was more of a done deal,” he said.
Lawson said he expected quick familiarity with the Racing Bulls team and setup. He had 11 F1 races under his belt coming into this season, and added two this season.
“I won’t fully know until I drive,” Lawson said. “I feel confident. I don't think too much has changed from last year.”
AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
Team RB driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand, center, flanked by Alpine driver Pierre Gasly of France, left, and Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, responds to a journalist's question during a news conference at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Thursday, April 3, 2025, ahead Sunday's Japanese Formula One Grand Prix race. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Team RB drivers Liam Lawson of New Zealand, left, with Isack Hadjar of France, speaks in front of their crew's video near their garage at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Thursday, April 3, 2025, ahead Sunday's Japanese Formula One Grand Prix race. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Team RB driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand responds to a journalist's question during a news conference at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Thursday, April 3, 2025, ahead Sunday's Japanese Formula One Grand Prix race. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.
The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.
But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”
U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.
The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.
Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.
Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.
Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”
About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.
The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.
But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.
Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.
Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”
Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
