Helmut Marko reveals Max Verstappen’s true feelings about Red Bull swap

Helmut Marko has confirmed it is true that Max Verstappen is unhappy about Red Bull’s decision to swap Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda.

Following a disastrous start to the season, Red Bull confirmed last week that Lawson would be replaced by Tsunoda with immediate effect from the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old New Zealander is returning to sister team Racing Bulls after getting the chop just two races into his Red Bull career.

Verstappen appeared to show his displeasure at Red Bull’s decision by liking an instagram post from former F1 driver Geido van Der Garde which criticised the move.

Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Marko has now admitted Verstappen, who sits second in the world championship, did make it clear he was not pleased.

“That conclusion is correct, and he did express that,” Marko told Motorsport.

“But we explained to Max that, in order to win the championship, we have to do everything we can 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, Lawson’s performance would improve as well.

“Of course, we’re working on further development, but at the moment, it’s hard to predict how quickly that will come.”

Marko claims Red Bull are saving Lawson’s career

Marko attempted to dismiss the notion of Lawson being demoted back to Red Bull’s sister team by insisting the decision has been made purely to protect the Kiwi and enable him to regain confidence.

“He's not being demoted - he's moving to Racing Bulls, which has a very competitive car, much easier to handle than the RB21,” Marko stressed. 

“The change happened after a start that I’d say was rather unfortunate. The third practice session in Australia was cancelled, and that’s where the problems began.

“That naturally affected Liam’s confidence. Unfortunately, things continued in China, which also had a sprint race - so again, only one practice session.

“And at the same time, we have to acknowledge that the RB21 is difficult to drive. It's not the fastest car, and the gap in performance just kept growing.

“It was a unanimous decision on our part. Earlier in the race [in China], we tried a different set-up.

“He was simply on the ropes, like a boxer. And when a boxer is on the ropes, you take him out of the ring.

“But in his case, we have the safety net of our unique opportunity with a second team — so we’re keeping him in Formula 1.”

Marko cited Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon as examples of drivers who have gone on to rebuild their reputations following unsuccessful stints at Red Bull. 

“We mentioned Gasly. He later came back into strong form and is now a very successful grand prix driver with Alpine. The same applies to [Williams' Alex] Albon,” Marko added.

“Everyone had the same fate next to Max, but they bounced back and found their form again in a less competitive environment.”