Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that Max Verstappen is far from pleased with the teams’ decision to shuffle their driver line-up.
The bombshell announcement came on Thursday morning, confirming that Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda will swap seats starting at the Japanese Grand Prix, a move not triggered by Lawson’s on-track results alone.
Lawson, the young New Zealander, endured a torrid start to the campaign, failing to score points in the opening two rounds. His woes were compounded by dismal qualifying performances, with 20th-place starts in both the China sprint and the Chinese Grand Prix.
Marko pinpointed the tricky RB21 car as a key factor in Lawson’s struggles, admitting it dented the rookie’s confidence early on.
“Liam has had a run of rotten luck,” Marko said in an interview with De Telegraaf. “He lost valuable time during Bahrain testing due to mechanical gremlins, and then in Australia’s third practice, more issues cropped up. That’s when the spiral began, pressure mounted, confidence faded, and despite pushing harder, the mistakes piled up.
“In China, it hit rock bottom. Our car’s a handful to drive and not the quickest out there.”
Despite Lawson’s clear difficulties, Marko stressed that the teams didn’t take the call to demote him back to Racing Bulls lightly. The Austrian pointed out that Red Bull’s unique two-team structure saved Lawson from an abrupt F1 exit.
“It was a tough call,” Marko said. “Liam was like a boxer on the ropes, but we’re not cutting him loose from Formula 1. He stays in the Red Bull family, and the Racing Bulls have a solid car. We’ve made similar moves before with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon—they bounced back and are now respected F1 drivers.
“Without our sister team, he’d be out the door.”
The decision has sparked a backlash, with Red Bull facing heat for acting so swiftly after just two races. Verstappen, the four-time world champion, has been vocal in his disapproval of the teams’ choice to axe Lawson.
Marko, however, defended the switch, arguing that Tsunoda’s experience is vital to keeping Verstappen in the hunt for a fifth title.
“We know Max isn’t thrilled,” Marko admitted. “But the teams need both cars up front, not just for the constructors’ title, but to back Max’s championship bid. With two strong cars, you can play the strategy game better.
Yuki’s experience and current form are what we need right now. It’s about the team’s success, and that includes Max’s.”
The drama sets the stage for the next chapter of the 2025 season, with the Japanese Grand Prix looming on April 6. Teams and drivers will tackle 53 laps of the iconic 5.807-kilometre Suzuka Circuit, where all eyes will be on Red Bull to see if their bold gamble pays off.
