Helmut Marko, advisor to Red Bull’s Motorsport, admitted that the team may have “made a mistake” in their treatment for the promotion of Liam Lawson and the subsequent demotion after only two races during the Formula 1 2025 season. Lawson, who had received the seat alongside Max Verstapun after the release of Sergio Perez, was abandoned after disappointing performance Australia and China. It has now been returned to the Red Bull junior team, Racing Bulls, in an exchange with Yuki Tsunoda from Japan. Speaking of the decision, Marko recognized that the team’s approach might not have been ideal. “His performance was unfortunately not good enough, and that comes from self-confidence,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “We fear that his confidence is so damaged that he could not bring his normal performance.”
The decision to exchange Lawson with Tsunoda has left many questions about Red Bull’s long -term vision. At the end of the 2024 season, they chose Lawson above Tsunoda, to overthrow this decision in the two races of the new campaign. Marko explained that Tsunoda had “taken a big step” and had become a more confident and well -balanced driver.
“It’s strange – after four years, now in his fifth year, he has a much stronger personality,” said Marko. “He did two very good shopping, but his strategy did not work at Racing Bulls.”
However, criticism argues that this decision seems reactionary rather than strategic. The former F1 pilot Giedo van der guard described him as a “panic movement”, a feeling apparently resolved by the main driver of Red Bull, Max Verstappen, who loved the Instagram post of Van Der Garde.
While Marko insists that Lawson’s return to racing bulls is “not a demotion” and that he always has a future in F1, history suggests the opposite. Gasly and Albon both rebuilt their careers after being sent back to the junior team, but they never returned to the main programming of Red Bull.
This is not the first time that Red Bull’s decisions have been questioned. Last spring, they extended Sergio Perez’s contract until the end of 2026, rather than continuing Carlos Sainz, who became a free agent after Ferrari signed Lewis Hamilton. Perez started the 2024 season well but had a hard time, driving Red Bull to reimburse him and replace him with Lawson. Now, after only two races, this choice has also been reversed.
Marko admitted that with hindsight, Red Bull could have acted differently. “At the beginning of the year, Sergio Perez finished twice and happened,” he said. “He came later that Sergio had problems with the car, and his performance dropped.”
With Tsunoda now in the second Red Bull seat, the Japanese driver has until the end of the season to prove himself. Marko clearly said it was not a temporary experience. “We think he can do the work,” he said.
Although the emphasis was put on Lawson and Tsunoda, Marko subtly suggested that Verstappen is very important. The Dutchman won three consecutive world titles with Red Bull, but Marko admitted that if the team’s performance decreases, his star pilot could explore other options. “All the best pilots have performance clauses in their contracts,” said Marko. “So we have to make sure that Max gets a car where he can win.”
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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