Liam Lawson’s move from Red Bull to Racing Bulls after just two races in the 2025 Formula 1 season has been a major talking point this week, as the championship takes a break while transitioning from Shanghai to Suzuka.
One of the most striking comments on the situation came from former driver Giedo van der Garde, who did not hesitate to take a stance or to aim harsh criticism at the Milton Keynes-based team’s management for approving Lawson’s replacement with Yuki Tsunoda.
“I’m starting to get a little tired of all the comments saying F1 is the toughest sport in terms of performance, and then when you don’t get good results, you suffer the consequences.”
“Yes, you have to perform. Of course, the pressure is incredible. But in my opinion, this is very similar to bullying or panic-driven moves rather than real, high-level athletic decisions. They made a fully conscious decision, giving Liam just two races and crushing him.”
Now, while van der Garde’s opinion is notable—he was, after all, a Formula 1 driver and a professional racer—its impact became significantly greater because of a “like” from none other than Max Verstappen himself.
The four-time world champion publicly expressed his disagreement with Liam Lawson’s demotion after just two races. He did not do so with words, but through a very powerful modern-day tool—a single tap on a virtual button that let the author of the post, and more importantly, the rest of the world, know that he shared that view.
Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing’s advisor and longtime mastermind behind the Milton Keynes academy, admitted the situation, confirming that Max was not happy with Lawson’s departure after just two Grands Prix.
“Saying that Max does not agree with Liam Lawson’s replacement is correct, and he himself has expressed this view. But we explained to Max that, to win the championship, we need to do everything possible to have two cars in the Top 10.”
“Max argued that the car is very difficult to drive and that if the car were better, Liam Lawson’s performance would also improve,” Helmut Marko explained. “Of course, we are working on further developments, but at the moment, it is difficult to predict how quickly this will happen.”
Marko refuses to call it a demotion. In his view, Liam Lawson has simply been placed in an environment that is more favorable for him given the current circumstances.
“First of all, he has not been demoted: he has moved to Racing Bulls, which is a very competitive car and much easier to handle compared to the RB21,” the Austrian insisted. “The change happened after what I would call an unfortunate start. The third practice session in Australia was canceled, and that’s when the problems began. Naturally, this affected Liam’s confidence.”
“Unfortunately, things continued in China, where there was also a sprint race, meaning again only one practice session. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that the RB21 is difficult to drive. It is not the fastest car, and the performance gap continues to grow.”
“But coming back to the term ‘demotion’: we talked about Pierre Gasly. He later returned in great form and is now a highly successful Grand Prix driver with Alpine. The same goes for Albon. Everyone has faced the same fate alongside Max, but they have bounced back and regained their form in a less competitive environment.”
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