Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has admitted the team made a mistake with their decision-making over Liam Lawson, Afrosport reports.
The New Zealander was promoted from sister team Racing Bulls and replaced Sergio Perez ahead of the 2025 season.
Lawson has however been demoted back to Racing Bulls after poor performances in the first two races where he failed to score points, and has now swapped seats with Yuki Tsunoda.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Marko said: “His performance was unfortunately not good enough and that comes from self-confidence.
“we were worried that his self-confidence is so damaged that he couldn’t bring his normal performance.”
When quizzed why Tsonoda was chosen now when he could have been the pick at the end of last year, Marko said: “Tsunoda made a big step. It’s strange after four years, now in his fifth year, he is a much stronger personality, he has more confidence and he did two very good races, it’s just his strategy didn’t work at Racing Bulls.
“In this case, a very difficult car experience is something that will help. That was our thoughts.”
Marko went on to insist that the swap with Tsunoda was not a demotion for Lawson, asserting he will be competitive at Racing Bulls.
“He’s not kicked out of F1 and Racing Bulls will give him the chance to recover and his career will start again,” he stated.
“For the benefit for him, he goes back to Racing Bulls, which has a car capable to be top 10 in qualifying and the race.
“Just look in the past, it was [Pierre] Gasly, it happened the same, also to [Alex] Albon and they recovered and they are now competitive F1 drivers.
“On top of it, the RB21 is a car which is not the fastest car but nevertheless very difficult to drive and Max can handle but not at this stage Liam.”
Meanwhile, Lawson, in a post on Instagram, said it was tough to see his dream as Red Bull driver end so early.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
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The next round of racing in Formula 1 takes place at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka on March 6.
