Liam Lawson should follow Pierre Gasly’s path: Helmut Marko’s idea. Helmut Marko discusses the decision to “demote” Liam Lawson to Racing Bulls.

After the recent announcement of Liam Lawson’s demotion from Red Bull to Racing Bulls, Helmut Marko commented on the decision during an interview with ServusTV, explaining the reasons and drawing a parallel with another well-known case from the past: Pierre Gasly’s.

A decision to safeguard the career
“He was in a situation of uncertainty. To safeguard his career, we decided he should return to Racing Bulls, where he would have the chance to rebuild himself,” Helmut Marko explained, emphasizing that this is not a definitive rejection, but rather a step towards a relaunch.

The Red Bull consultant recalled Gasly’s path, who in 2019 had been demoted to Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) after partnering with Max Verstappen for several races with fluctuating results. According to Helmut Marko, that experience was key to relaunching his career: “Think of Gasly, for example: in the end, he managed to partner with Max, recovered, and embarked on an extraordinary career. That was the first reason.”

A wish that makes one reflect. Pierre Gasly was, in fact, forced to cut ties with the Red Bull orbit after his demotion.

The internal challenge with Isack Hadjar
For Lawson, a new phase now begins, but not without obstacles. His teammate at Racing Bulls is the young French talent Isack Hadjar, who has impressed since his first Formula 1 appearances. “Obviously, Liam Lawson will find a very, very fast teammate in Hadjar. Isack is only in his third F1 race, but what he has shown so far is extraordinary, and it will already be quite difficult to keep up with him.”

According to Marko, it will be important for Lawson to react with determination. “Now he must, as they say, ‘roll up his sleeves,’ and then we’ll see how things progress.”

Marko wanted to clarify that, thanks to Red Bull’s unique structure with two teams on the grid, Liam Lawson’s demotion doesn’t represent an end, but an opportunity. “We’ll simply observe how the situation develops and, once again, thanks to the luxury of having four seats, for Liam Lawson, this is not a collapse, but rather a move to a sort of junior team, so he can get back on track.”