Red Bull’s Helmut Marko believes the team made the correct decision in promoting Yuki Tsunoda at the beginning of the season.
He argues that Tsunoda is more competitive than Lawson was at Red Bull, and expects the 24-year-old to secure strong results.
At the same time, Marko maintains that Red Bull did not abandon Lawson by demoting him to VCARB.
Helmut Marko happy with Tsunoda promotion
In many ways, the story of Yuki Tsunoda’s season has been one of misfortune and missed opportunity.
Poor strategy in Australia and China cost him roughly 20 points, whilst an incident in Jeddah also prevented Tsunoda from increasing his 2025 tally.
Because of this, the Japanese driver’s Championship position does not reflect his level of performance this year.
Last weekend’s Miami GP was relatively quiet for the Red Bull driver, who did not have access to the RB21’s new floor – which Verstappen was using.
Still, amidst some difficult patches, Tsunoda has been a clear improvement on his predecessor – Liam Lawson.
Tsunoda has the misfortune of joining Red Bull in their least competitive year since 2020, relative to the other front-runners.
Despite this, both he and the team aspire to secure bigger and better results in what remains of the season.
Helmut Marko is adamant that promoting Tsunoda was the correct decision:
“Yes, but he’s much closer to Max than Liam was,” he told BILD.
“And in only his second race with Red Bull, he finished in the points.
“That was a top performance, and proof that we did the right thing.
“When was the last time we had two cars in the points? I don’t remember.”
Red Bull continue to monitor Lawson
The biggest casualty of Red Bull’s early swap was Liam Lawson, whose career at the senior team only lasted two weekends.
For obvious reasons, his demotion to VCARB was – and still is – perceived as a pivotal career moment.
Historically, drivers who are relegated from Red Bull to the second team have never been promoted again.
Lawson’s path moving forward, beyond treading water and keeping his VCARB seat, will likely involve convincing other teams he deserves a contract.
Regardless, Helmut Marko insists Lawson’s career has not been ruined by joining VCARB.
“Liam couldn’t handle the pressure at Red Bull. That’s why it was the right decision to fill the seat with someone else.
“We know what we’re doing. But we didn’t abandon Liam either.
“He’s still racing in Formula 1, and has one of 20 cockpits worldwide.
“Because instead of kicking him out, we placed him with Racing Bulls. He’s been well received there, and is performing better again.”
The biggest obstacle Lawson faces to cement his position at VCARB is to outperform Isack Hadjar.
Despite being one of the lesser-discussed rookies heading into 2025, Hadjar is turning heads across the paddock.
Of course, with Tsunoda no longer a reference as his teammate, assessing the Frenchman’s performances is tricky.
At the same time, the 20-year-old’s results compared to Lawson are painting a very flattering image about his current level.
With Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad waiting in the wings, Lawson must ensure he steps up his level throughout the season.
If not, Lindblad’s likely promotion to F1 could come at his expense.
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Main Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
