Liam Lawson delivered ‘too little’ at Red Bull says Helmut Marko of shock driver switch

Yuki Tsunoda is in, and Liam Lawson is out, at Red Bull. Helmut Marko gave insight into the team’s decision

The matter of paddock “speculation” at Red Bull has become official.

The team announced ahead of the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix that Liam Lawson would be demoted after just two races, moving to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls in a switch with Yuki Tsunoda. The veteran driver will realize his long-desired promotion to Red Bull, just in time for his home race.

Speaking with Austrian outlet OE24 before the official announcement, Red Bull senior advisor Dr. Helmut Marko addressed the young driver’s slow start as well as the team’s struggles with the RB21, Red Bull’s challenger for the 2025 season.

“Things have been better. Although our result was worse than our performance,” said Marko regarding the Chinese Grand Prix. “Max was too cautious with the medium tires; with the hard ones, he was able to keep up with the McLarens anyway.”

The discussion quickly turned to Lawson, and Marko conceded that the driver was contributing “too little” for Red Bull to achieve their goals as a team, and to assist with team tactics.

“In Australia, he had a turbo failure in the third practice session. The kilometers he lost as a result are taking their toll on him,” described Marko. “What he’s done so far has obviously been too little. We need a strong second driver, if only for the team’s tactics.”

Regarding Red Bull’s initial decision to promote Lawson over Tsunoda, Marko pointed to the veteran driver’s inconsistency as a reason the team “unanimously” picked Lawson.

“Yuki was too inconsistent. That’s why we unanimously decided on Lawson. But under the increased pressure, he couldn’t deliver, right from the first day in Australia,” said Marko. “Then he went into a downward spiral. It’s like a battered boxer; it’s very difficult to get out of it. In that sense, it was a mistake [to promote Lawson].”

The Red Bull senior figure then outlined the struggles the team has seen with the RB21 this season.

“It’s true that the RB21 is difficult to drive,” said Marko. “The Racing Bull is easier to handle and very fast on a qualifying lap. But in the race, it lags significantly behind the Red Bull Racing car.”

Marko’s comments are all well and good but for many, they crystalize the ongoing frustration with the second seat at Red Bull. As has been covered here and elsewhere Tsunoda will be the sixth teammate of Verstappen’s since 2016, as the team has cycled through option after option alongside the four-time champion.

While some drivers, such as Sergio Pérez, were afforded significant time to settle into the seat others were not afforded such grace. Lawson leaving after just two races represented the quickest decision by Red Bull to part with one of Verstappen’s teammates, ahead of Pierre Gasly (12 races) and Alex Albon (26).

Another layer of frustration with this move stems from the larger context around Lawson’s start to the season. As you can see here, Lawson ran the second-fewest laps during pre-season testing, due to an engine issue on the second day. Only Lance Stroll — who missed part of testing due to an illness —completed fewer laps:

Then consider the circumstances of the first two race weekends. Lawson arrived in Melbourne — a track where he had never raced before — and after missing time in the third practice as well as enduring a tough qualifying session, was forced to race in wet conditions that proved treacherous for several drivers, including veterans such as Carlos Sainz Jr.

Then it was on to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix — another track where he had never raced before — for an F1 Sprint race weekend. That gave Lawson just one hour of practice in the RB21, a car Marko concedes is “difficult” to drive, before the first qualifying session of the weekend.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner noted that Lawson would be headed to some circuits where he had experience in the upcoming weeks following the Chinese Grand Prix.

“It was a tough day for him because losing [final practice] at a track that he’s never raced at – he’s the only driver on the grid not to have raced here – immediately put him on the back foot,” Horner told the official F1 channel after qualifying in Melbourne.

“He’s had a really difficult run so far. Let’s see about the race tomorrow, and then of course, as we get to tracks that he starts to know, I think he’ll start to come alive.”

Lawson will indeed get that chance to “come alive.”

But at VCARB, and not Red Bull.