Red Bull comes clean on why Liam Lawson was not given more than 2 races to prove himself
Red Bull's Helmut Marko has revealed that one of the major reasons behind Liam Lawson not being given more than two races to prove himself was because the team is focused on providing Max Verstappen his fifth world title. The Kiwi was brought to the team in 2025 as a replacement for Sergio Perez.
The driver has, however, been shown the door after just two races as Yuki Tsunoda would take over in Japan. The second seat at Red Bull has been a bone of contention for some time now.
It all started with Daniel Ricciardo leaving the squad at the end of 2018. Since then, Verstappen has had four different teammates, and all of them have been booted out for lack of performance. Lawson was, however, not even given sufficient time to establish himself either. The Kiwi stepped into Red Bull this season and has had two bad races that see him being dropped and replaced by Tsunoda.
Talking to Motorsport.com, Marko revealed that the reason behind the team not giving the Kiwi an extended run was that the team is focused on giving Verstappen another title, and hence wasting any time did not seem ideal. He said:
"No, otherwise we wouldn't have taken these decisions. On the one hand, the unfortunate start - that might have been a mistake. Lawson had only driven eleven Grands Prix and in this situation he couldn't perform anymore. On the other hand, Yuki was - as crazy as it sounds - very strong in his fourth season. His personality, he is physically much stronger, he seems very confident and he delivered two great races."
Marko added:
"Why didn't we wait longer? Well, we want to win the fifth world championship with Max. The car is, as I said, difficult and not the fastest. It is then important to have a second driver who can support us strategically in races and contribute to the development of the car."
Liam Lawson compared to a battered boxer at Red Bull
Further explaining why such a call was made, Helmut Marko said that Liam Lawson was akin to a battered boxer at Red Bull. At that time, it was important to protect him instead of letting him take the heat. Marko said:
"Well, this was a unanimous decision from us. Earlier in the race [in China] we tried a different setup. At that moment he was in the ropes like a boxer. When a boxer is in the ropes, you have to get him out of the ring. In this case, with our second team, we have a unique opportunity and a safety net, so we can keep him in Formula 1."