Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has admitted the team erred in managing Liam Lawson’s role, which saw him demoted after only two races this season. The 23-year-old New Zealander, who was initially alongside Max Verstappen, found it tough to cope in the early races, and Red Bull replaced him with Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda. Marko conceded that Lawson’s performance was not as expected, attributing it to a loss of confidence.
“He couldn’t showcase his real potential because he lost confidence,” Marko told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Lawson had a tough start, qualifying 18th in Australia before crashing out, and finishing at the back in both the sprint and the main race in China. Meanwhile, Verstappen secured second place in Melbourne and finished fourth in Shanghai, underlining the performance gap between the two teammates.
Even with the setback, Lawson is upbeat about his comeback to Red Bull’s second team, Racing Bulls. On Instagram, he thanked everyone, writing, “Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid. I appreciate everything that brought me here, and to those who believe in me—thank you, it means the world.”
Marko verified that Tsunoda would stick with the team for the rest of the year to establish himself, citing his recent improvement and enhanced confidence.
The choice to drop Lawson before the Japanese Grand Prix—one of the few tracks he has experience on—was made due to fears that his rattled confidence would negatively affect his performance. Marko said that Red Bull required two competitive drivers to reinforce Verstappen’s championship plan, maintaining a competitive edge in races.
Shooting down rumors that Lawson was out for good, Marko asserted that this change was not career suicide. “He’s not out of F1. Racing Bulls will help him get back to his best,” he said, citing previous instances of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who recovered from similar career jolts.
A Missed Opportunity with Sainz?
Looking back at previous choices, Marko acknowledged that Red Bull might have chosen Carlos Sainz rather than extending Sergio Perez’s contract. Perez was going strong at the time, placing second in the first two races of the last campaign. But he lost form later on, prompting Red Bull to reconsider its driver team.
**Verstappen’s Future with Red Bull
Though Marko is still optimistic that Red Bull can deliver a fifth title to Verstappen, he admitted that the Dutch driver might opt to leave if the team is not able to give him a competitive car.
“Each of the top drivers’ contracts comes with performance clauses. “They have their choices if we don’t perform,” said Marko. He did, however, assure them that Verstappen and his engineers are working day and night to make the car better in an effort to maintain Red Bull’s advantage.
Everyone will be looking at Red Bull’s decisions from here on out, including whether their gamble on Tsunoda pays off and how Lawson takes his defeat. Verstappen, however, appeared to weigh in with his own opinion on the restructuring by “liking” a post on Instagram by experienced Formula One driver Giedo van der Garde, who referred to the decision as a “panic decision.”
