Picture Credit: X
Red Bull Racing’s motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, admitted the mistake in decision-making in regard to giving the drivers’ seat to New Zealander Liam Lawson for the 2025 season. The 23-year-old was paired up with the four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen, but after he had a tough time of it in Australia and China, the Red Bull Racing team management replaced him with Japanese Yuki Tsunoda.
It was a demotion for Liam Lawson as he will now compete for the second team of Red Bull Racing, called the Racing Bulls, in place of Yuki Tsunoda, who got promoted to his place for the rest of the F1 2025 season. During his two races for Red Bull Racing, the Kiwi finished firmly outside the points while qualifying way poorly in comparison to his teammate Max Verstappen.
At the Australian Grand Prix, which kick-started the F1 season, Liam Lawson qualified 18th before crashing out of the race at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit down under. Last weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit during the Chinese Grand Prix, he qualified in last place for the sprint and main races before finishing in 14th and 12th respectively.
His performance was unfortunately not good enough: Helmut Marko on Liam Lawson
In his interview with BBC Radio, Helmut Marko talked about how Red Bull “made a mistake” in regard to opting for Liam Lawson as one of their drivers for the 2025 season. The 81-year-old was also quoted as saying, “His performance was unfortunately not good enough and that comes from self-confidence,” before stating that he “lost confidence and he couldn't show his real potential.”
Moreover, after his demotion from Red Bull to Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson wrote on Instagram, “Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it's what I've worked towards my whole life. I'm grateful for everything that's brought me to this point. To every one of you who's stood by me, thank you for all the support. It means the world.”
