"Unless you're Max Verstappen, you're nothing": IndyCar's Conor Daly calls out Helmut Marko and Red Bull's "broken system"

IndyCar fan-favorite driver Conor Daly has called out Red Bull Racing for its ruthless axing of Liam Lawson and its "broken" driver management system. The Christian Horner-led F1 team replaced Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda after only two races in 2025. The decision will take effect with the upcoming Japanese GP this weekend, Tsunoda's home race.

Red Bull's second seat alongside four-time champion Max Verstappen has been a topic of debate, with none of the last four drivers being able to succeed. Helmut Marko, Red Bull's driver advisor, has been ruthless with his criticism of those drivers who succumbed to the pressure of matching Verstappen.

Conor Daly recently commented on the Lawson-Tsunoda swap, calling it "one of the wildest and one of the saddest things" he's seen.

"Red Bull has a driver development program for a reason. They try to bring their folks through the system for them to get their chance, but those chances are immediately stripped away in a very wild fashion," he said on his Speed Street podcast on YouTube. [25:00 onwards].

While Daly agreed that Lawson failed to impress in the two races in Australia and China, he added:

"I like Max a lot. He's a good dude and one of the best drivers in the world, but I think Liam, for sure, deserved more of a chance than two races. It's a broken system. It disproves your leadership, it disproves anyone's confidence to work in your environment. When you are a Red Bull driver, it's literally the coolest thing ever. But how could you have faith in working with those people like Helmut Marko and the leadership there? Like unless you're Max, you're literally just nothing. I don't understand how you operate as a team like that."

While a large section of the F1 fanbase found Yuki Tsunoda's promotion from Visa Cash App RB to Red Bull 'deserved', many had the same opinion as Conor Daly's. Nonetheless, VCARB welcomed Liam Lawson back with open arms in the Japanese GP paddock, in a gesture that went viral on social media.

Conor Daly backs Yuki Tsunoda for Red Bull success despite Liam Lawson's premature axing

Conor Daly at the NTT IndyCar Series GMR Grand Prix - Source: Getty

The 2025 Australian GP and the Chinese GP were unseen territories for Liam Lawson. The New Zealand driver had never raced on those circuits before. Wet weather in Australia increased the pressure multifold as he crashed out of the race.

In China, F1 was set for a Sprint weekend, meaning Lawson had only one practice session to get accustomed to the track. He couldn't hit the ground running and got eliminated in Q1 in qualifying and finished out of the points in the race, in P12.

Conor Daly commented on these performances, emphasizing how two bad weekends cannot paint a fair picture of a driver's caliber. Though he agreed that Yuki Tsunoda might be the solution for Red Bull's second driver problem, he stood in defense of Lawson.

"Yuki's been awesome. Like I do agree Yuki Tsunoda has been... maybe he's the guy. But I don't believe you can tell anything in two races for a driver who is going to some new tracks as well, maybe doesn't have quite a lot of experience in that car," he said on the aforementioned podcast. [26:03 onwards]

The start of Conor Daly's 2025 IndyCar season has been mediocre. His No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy has proved to be a midfield car, earning him P17 and P16 finishes (out of 27) in the first two races.