May 26 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko is not ruling out yet another driver shake-up at Red Bull Racing – potentially even before the 2025 season is complete.
The marque’s original plan was to pair Liam Lawson with Max Verstappen for the full season – but the rookie New Zealander was demoted to Racing Bulls after just two races.
Advisor Marko stands by the decision.
“No, because Lawson was in a negative spiral,” he told Viaplay in Monaco.
“He is now in the top ten, so that shows that he is recovering. He would not have succeeded next to Max Verstappen.”
However, Lawson’s replacement was Yuki Tsunoda, whose backer Honda switches to Aston Martin next year. In recent days, Marko has begun to critique the Japanese’s fragility under pressure.
At the same time, the 82-year-old is racing about Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar.
“When I compare Hadjar to Kimi Antonelli, I heard that Kimi tested about 10,000 kilometres in old cars,” said Marok. “Hadjar tested at most 500 to 800km. That shows how much potential this little young man has.
“I think he is a potential grand prix winner.”
Some think it’s possible Tsunoda will be dropped from the Red Bull program completely, resulting Hadjar moving up to the senior team and Arvid Lindblad moving up from F2.
Lawson’s place in the Red Bull program might also be in doubt.
“We normally only talk about the future of the drivers after the summer break,” Marko insisted. “So it is much too early to say anything about all of this now.”
What is clear is that Marko is leaving the door open for more movement within Red Bull’s four F1 cockpits. “Performance is always the most important thing at Red Bull,” he confirmed.
Complicating the matter further, however, is that Verstappen’s exit clauses are looming for that pivotal summer break period. “We will only look at that after the summer break,” Marko insists.
“It is far too early for that now. He has a contract until 2028.
“All contracts have clauses,” Marko continued. “They mainly have to do with performance. That is not important at the moment.
“We just have to make sure we make the car good enough. Then this whole discussion will be over. At the moment it is clear – he says that he wants to serve out his contract, but we have to give him a winning car, or at least one that he can fight for the world title with.”
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