Franco Colapinto replacing Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls? Helmut Marko finds the F1 paddock rumors amusing. Some were convinced that the Argentine driver, coming from Alpine, was set to secure a seat in the Faenza-based team immediately—a decision that would have meant the end of the road for Lawson, permanently sidelined by Red Bull’s management.
Red Bull had barely arrived in Europe before already deciding to make a change. Liam Lawson struggled at both Melbourne and Shanghai, stuck at the back of the grid and never really comfortable in the RB21. Ironically, the New Zealander—touted as “mentally stronger” than Yuki Tsunoda during the winter—now makes way for the Japanese driver, who will debut at his home Grand Prix.
Helmut Marko believes this change was necessary, convinced that it will ultimately benefit Lawson as well. There was no point in piling on pressure under Christian Horner and Max Verstappen—returning to Faenza will allow him to regain composure and continue developing as a driver, keeping his F1 career alive, at least for now.
Helmut Marko: “Colapinto was never considered”
In the days leading up to the swap, various paddock sources speculated that Liam Lawson was completely out of the picture. No Racing Bulls seat for him—instead, Yuki Tsunoda would be replaced by Franco Colapinto, who is currently aligned with Alpine. Some media outlets reported it as a certainty, but Helmut Marko insists there was never any real interest.
“Franco Colapinto was never a topic of conversation [with Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes],” Helmut Marko explained, as reported by formule1.nl. “He had a great first season in Formula 1, and of course, he’s someone to keep an eye on. But we never seriously considered him. Isack Hadjar was often faster than him in F2, and we’ve proven we made the right choice.” – the Red Bull advisor concluded.
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