RED BULL chief Helmut Marko admits that Max Verstappen is “not happy” with Red Bull’s brutal axing of his team-mate Liam Lawson.
The ruthless move to drop Lawson to sister team Racing Bulls and promote Yuki Tsunoda after two races was announced on Thursday.
The writing was on the wall after Lawson’s finished in P15 in Shanghai and qualified last in both the sprint and the race.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was immediately asked about Lawson’s future after the race – won by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Lawson’s nightmare season began with him dropping out in Q1 at the Aussie GP, before crashing out of the opening race in Melbourne.
Reports immediately suggested that Red Bull superstar Verstappen didn’t want Lawson so harshly replaced after poor two weekends in the RB21.
The Dutchman,27, has been left disappointed and disagreed with the decision before it was made.
He subsequently liked an Instagram post accusing Red Bull of “bullying” Lawson after the news was confirmed.
And now Marko has broken silence and accepted that the four-time world champion disapproves of the move.
Horner’s advisor told De Telegraaf: “We know Max is not happy. But we need two cars at the front.
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“Not only for the constructors’ championship, but also to help Max to his fifth world title. Then you can achieve more strategically in races.
“We can use Yuki’s experience and form now. That counts. At the end of the day, that is to the advantage of the team.
“And that also means to the advantage of Max.”
Tsunoda – who has far greater F1 experience than Lawson – will suit up for Red Bull for the first time at his home Grand Prix in Japan next weekend.
Meanwhile, Lawson will return to second team Racing Bulls as team-mate to French rookie Isack Hadjar.
The New Zealander, 23, broke his silence in a moving social media post hours after the decision was announced.
He wrote: “Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole life.
“It’s tough, but I’m grateful for everything that’s brought me to this point.
“To every one of you who’s stood by me, thank you for all the support it means the world.
“Thank you to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls for the warm welcome, I’m excited and ready to go to work at one of my favourite places.”
Lawson was the latest in a line of drivers dating back to Pierre Gasly in 2019 – followed by Alex Albon and Sergio Perez – who have struggled to emulate Verstappen in taming the mechanical beast created by the Red Bull engineers.
Horner said: “It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and as a result we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch.
“We came into the 2025 season with two ambitions: to retain the World Drivers’ Championship and to reclaim the World Constructors’ title, and this is a purely sporting decision.
“We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience as he continues his F1 career with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”
