Sending Liam Lawson back to Racing Bulls is a move to "save his career," asserts Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko.
The 23-year-old rookie from New Zealand has drawn widespread pity in the Formula 1 world after dismal showings in Australia and China, leading to his Red Bull seat being handed to Racing Bulls' Yuki Tsunoda.
"In order to save his career, we decided to send him back to Racing Bulls," Marko told Servus TV.
Not everyone sees it as a positive step, with ex-F1 driver Giedo van der Garde labelling it a "bullying move" on Instagram—a post 'liked' by Max Verstappen.
Red Bull concedes its 2025 car poses a steep challenge for anyone but Verstappen. "In all these years," Marko admitted, "Max is the only one who can handle the car optimally.
"For a young driver, we see that it's even more difficult. If we had just left Liam in the car, we think his performance under pressure would have been even worse.
"Because we have a second team, he can rehabilitate himself in a more relaxed atmosphere. With Racing Bulls, he has the chance to build something up again."
Marko explained that Tsunoda was initially bypassed for the 2025 seat due to his "inconsistent" form last year, with Lawson deemed to have a tougher mentality. So what's changed?
"We have seen that Tsunoda has made a step forward over the winter. As a person, he has also become stronger. And as a Japanese, Yuki obviously knows the Suzuka circuit very well.
"Yuki was too inconsistent," Marko insists. "That's why we unanimously decided on Lawson. But under the increased pressure, he couldn't deliver, right from the first day in Australia. Then he went into a downward spiral.
"It's like a battered boxer—it's very difficult to get out of it by then. In that sense, yes, it was a mistake."
Lawson's recent struggles have - as it stands today - all but dashed Red Bull's hopes in the constructors' title fight. "What he did so far was obviously too little," Marko told Osterreich newspaper. "We need a strong second driver, if only for the team's tactics."
He dismissed suggestions that the Racing Bulls car outshines the 2025 Red Bull, though. "It's true that the RB21 is difficult to drive," he said. "The Racing Bull is easier to handle and very fast on a qualifying lap.
"But in the race, it lags significantly behind the Red Bull Racing car.
"This isn't the end of the world for Lawson. He still has every opportunity to launch a successful Formula 1 career with the Racing Bulls."
Now, the spotlight turns to 24-year-old Tsunoda, who brings four seasons of experience from the Faenza-based sister team. "The opportunity of a lifetime," muses France's Auto Hebdo, "or a poisoned chalice?"
