Red Bull’s outspoken motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, has admitted the team may have acted too quickly in promoting Liam Lawson to a full-time Formula 1 seat this season. Lawson was dropped after just two race weekends.
The 21-year-old was brought into the senior Red Bull Racing team following an impressive 11-race run with the junior squad, RB. But after a difficult debut in Australia, where he qualified 18th and retired from the race, and another challenging weekend in China, the decision was made to replace him with Yuki Tsunoda.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Marko addressed the situation with honesty.
“As soon as he started pushing, he made mistakes… and the RB21 isn’t the easiest car to handle. Max [Verstappen] can cope with it, but Liam couldn’t, at least not at this stage.”
Marko noted that Lawson’s limited track time due to reliability issues hurt his confidence and performance.
“We were worried his self-confidence was getting damaged, and he couldn’t bring his normal performance.”
Red Bull is focused on winning the Constructors’ Championship and helping Max Verstappen chase a fifth world title, which means both drivers need to perform consistently. Marko added that top drivers like Verstappen have performance clauses in their contracts, putting added pressure on the team to deliver results.
When asked if Red Bull had made the right decision, Marko responded candidly.
“Inside, I would say yes. We made a mistake.”
Despite the setback, Marko believes Lawson still has a future in F1.
“Racing Bulls will give him the chance to recover, and his career can start again.”
Tsunoda, on the other hand, has shown clear signs of development.
“He’s far more mature now. He’s confident, and his performances in Australia and China were very good.”
