Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has shut down any possibility of Liam Lawson potentially replacing Yuki Tsunoda this year. The Austrian has claimed that another driver change simply does not make sense in 2025. Lawson was replaced by Tsunoda at Red Bull after two rounds of the ongoing season.
Liam Lawson was signed by Red Bull to replace Sergio Perez in 2025. But was replaced after just two rounds. Since returning back to Racing Bulls, the Kiwi driver has failed to find confidence and form. He has also been outperformed by rookie teammate Isack Hadjar.
But Lawson found some form again at the Red Bull Ring. The RB driver qualified in P6 at the Austrian GP, and came home to finish in the same position in the race. This was the 23-year-old’s best ever F1 result.
With Lawson now thriving, and Tsunoda struggling at Red Bull, questions about the team environment have been raised. Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko was even asked on Sky Germany if the team will now consider bringing Lawson back to replace Tsunoda.
“A driver change doesn’t make sense. Lawson was also completely exhausted. I think we would not have stayed on his feet next to Max [Verstappen],” said Marko. [as reported by PlanetF1]
Marko has also claimed that replacing Lawson with Tsunoda was the right decision for Red Bull.
Yuki Tsunoda suffering with low self-confidence, claims Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko
Helmut Marko has claimed that Yuki Tsunoda is suffering at Red Bull purely as a result of low self-confidence. The 82-year-old also added that the Japanese driver has been quick in practice, but failed to turn it up in competitive sessions.
Speaking to Sky Germany, Marko claimed that “the speed is there” with Tsunoda.
“Yuki lacks self-confidence. We have to think about how we can stabilize him so that he performs throughout the weekend, which he partly shows in free practice.” said Marko.
“He had that dangerous crash in Imola. It is now a sum of negative events, but the speed is there. We see that in the practice sessions, but when the pressure is on, that changes.” he added.
Yuki Tsunoda has failed to score any points in the last four races. Even prior to that, he had only scored seven points since making the switch over to Red Bull.
Liam Lawson has also not been having the best of times at RB. But he seemingly broke the chains in Austria. The best driver after Max Verstappen within the Red Bull setup in 2025 is actually Isack Hadjar. The rookie has already scored 21 points this year. His best finish came at Monaco, when he finished P6.
The Frenchman could be another name for Red Bull to look at for the second seat soon. But at the moment, staying within the stable RB setup seems like the best career move for Hadjar.
