Liam Lawson akin to a 'battered boxer,' says Helmut Marko

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has compared Liam Lawson to a "battered boxer" as the Kiwi gets replaced by Yuki Tsunoda as Max Verstappen's racing partner in the ongoing season of Formula 1. The young driver was allowed to race with the senior team after just a handful of races with the sister team over the last two seasons.

Lawson had a tough initiation to racing for Red Bull as the driver was nowhere close to teammate Max Verstappen in both the first and the second race. The first race in Australia was a disappointment as the driver was eliminated in Q1 and then crashed out of the race. The second race in China was worse, and it was during that time that questions were first raised around what the future held for the team's second driver.

As it turns out, Red Bull has made a call, and the team is replacing Lawson with Tsunoda from the F1 Japanese GP onwards. Talking about the young Kiwi, Marko mentioned that the driver was unable to get off the block quickly enough, and hence, the pressure got to him.

Talking about the choice between Tsunoda and Lawson at the end of last season, Marko told OE24 that the team went with the Kiwi because the Japanese driver was a bit inconsistent. Unfortunately for Lawson, once things started going wrong in Australia, he went into a negative spiral, and just like a battered boxer, there was no coming back from it. Marko said,

"Yuki was too inconsistent. That's why we unanimously decided on Lawson. But under the increased pressure, he couldn't deliver, right from the first day in Australia. Then he went into a downward spiral. It's like a battered boxer; it's very difficult to get out of it. In that sense, it was a mistake (to put Lawson in the Red Bull cockpit)," said Marko.

Marko also touched on the debate around Red Bull's car and compared it with the Racing Bulls challenger. According to the Austrian, the sister team's car is easier to drive and close to the senior team in qualifying. In the race, however, things start falling apart. He said,

"It's true that the RB21 is difficult to drive. The Racing Bull is easier to handle and very fast on a qualifying lap. But in the race, it lags significantly behind the Red Bull Racing car," he added.

Helmut Marko on Red Bull's need for a strong second driver amid Liam Lawson's form

Talking about Liam Lawson, Helmut Marko felt that the biggest problem for the Kiwi was the fact that he had a turbo issue in Australia, which set him back in terms of mileage. Ultimately, it cost him when it came to getting the best out of the car later. Marko emphasized the importance of having a strong second driver, as he said,

"In Australia, he had a turbo failure in the third practice session. The kilometers he lost as a result are taking their toll on him. What he's done so far has obviously been too little. We need a strong second driver, if only for the team's tactics."

Lawson would be racing for Racing Bulls for the rest of the season, and in a way, this might be the best thing for him, as the car would allow him to showcase himself in a better manner.