As Christian Horner once said, “If you’ve got a problem. Change your bloody car!”
Liam Lawson may be keeping his comments measured and professional, but Red Bull’s continued public narrative around the Kiwi’s demotion is raising more questions than answers, particularly as some of their statements directly contradict Lawson’s own account.
Despite delivering a career-best sixth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, outscoring Yuki Tsunoda and moving above him in the Driver’s Championship standings, Lawson’s performances continue to be downplayed by Red Bull’s senior figures, who appear more focused on justifying a driver swap that has yet to yield the desired results.
Red Bull’s senior adviser, Dr. Helmut Marko, told Sky Germany that he stands by the controversial decision to drop Lawson after just two races with the main team, insisting there’s no chance of a driver reversal with Tsunoda.
“A driver change doesn’t make sense,” said Marko.
“Absolutely, because Lawson was also completely exhausted. He needed a few races to recover, now he has defended a sixth place brilliantly against Fernando Alonso with a one-stopper.
“I think he would not have stayed on his feet next to Max either.”
Marko’s comments come after repeated suggestions from Red Bull leadership, both Marko and Christian Horner, that Lawson’s return to the junior team was motivated by a need to rebuild confidence following his early-season drives in Australia and China.
But Lawson himself has openly rejected that claim.
“That is not my story,” Lawson told RacingNews365.
“My confidence hasn’t changed since last year; it didn’t change in the Red Bull, and it didn’t change in the first couple of races back in the VCARB.
“It was great to score points in Monaco, and as much as that looked as if it gave me a bunch of confidence, for me, that hasn’t changed since (starting) the year.”
Lawson also refused to be drawn into comparisons with Tsunoda, who replaced him at Red Bull but has yet to impress, collecting just seven points across nine races. Lawson, in contrast, has already scored twelve.
“If anybody else struggles in that car, it doesn’t change me; it doesn’t make it any better for me, so I am just focused on doing the best job in the car that I am in,” Lawson said.
“As much as I never got the chance to show what I was capable of in a Red Bull, it doesn’t really change too much.”
While Lawson is delivering under pressure, Tsunoda’s tenure with Red Bull appears more fragile. Marko has acknowledged that the Japanese driver is suffering from a crisis of confidence, especially after a crash at Imola.
“Yuki lacks self-confidence,” Marko said.
“We have to think about how we can stabilise him so that he performs throughout the weekend, which he partly shows in free practice.
“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.”
But once again, Red Bull’s fallback excuse seems to centre around a driver’s “confidence” rather than any potential shortcomings of the car, an explanation that is quickly wearing thin.
Even during the Austrian Grand Prix broadcast, commentators pointed out that the common denominator in the team’s struggles is not the drivers, but the car itself, and they can’t argue otherwise anymore.
While Red Bull continues to deflect scrutiny onto its drivers’ mental states, the reality is harder to ignore: the second Red Bull car has underperformed, regardless of who is behind the wheel.
By focusing on intangible narratives like confidence, Red Bull appears more interested in preserving its public image than confronting the true root of its issues.
What’s also clear is that Tsunoda is being afforded time to find his footing in the Red Bull seat, something Lawson was not granted before being dropped. And while the team have been quick to offer explanations for Tsunoda’s inconsistency, they remain publicly unwilling to acknowledge Lawson’s resilience or rising stock.
Despite the noise, Lawson remains focused. His standout result in Austria earned him praise from Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies, who said the performance showed Lawson had “found his feet” with the team.
Now, the 23-year-old Kiwi turns his attention to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix this weekend, looking to build on his momentum and let his performance do the talking, regardless of what Red Bull says off track.
Header Image: Red Bull Content Pool
