F1 News: Can anyone drive the Red Bull 'Sled' fast except Verstappen?

(GMM) In an ominous sign for Liam Lawson, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has admitted that he will be demoted today, after failing alongside Max Verstappen in just two races.

23-year-old Lawson already knows his fate, which was reportedly decided by the energy drink’s owners in collaboration with team management in Dubai on Tuesday.

When asked for confirmation, Marko told Osterreich newspaper on Wednesday: “Please be patient until tomorrow.”

Lawson’s replacement from Suzuka and beyond will be Yuki Tsunoda – with Lawson returning to Racing Bulls. Tsunoda declared as he left Shanghai last Sunday that he was ready to face the “monster” in the form of Max Verstappen.

Many insiders, however, do not expect the Japanese to fare much better than Lawson, pointing to extreme car handling that only quadruple world champion Verstappen is talented enough to handle.

But even the Dutchman is yet to win a race in the RB21 so far in 2025, causing Marko to worry that Red Bull could eventually lose him to a rival.

“Max wants to win,” the 81-year-old Austrian said. “And he wants to feel like he’s doing his utmost to achieve that.

“If he doesn’t have that feeling, there’s a risk he’ll take a different approach.”

Dr Helmut Marko, Team Consultant of Oracle Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing talk in the garage during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 22, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

If Verstappen does ultimately depart, Red Bull might start to worry about securing a top-line driver to replace him – given the fact that Lawson was essentially dead-last all weekend in Shanghai.

“Red Bull, it has to be acknowledged, would already have sunk into mediocrity if they didn’t have Max Verstappen,” former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland.

He thinks team boss Christian Horner’s position may struggle to hold onto his job.

“Horner is already controversial,” said Schumacher. “He has simply failed to hold together the winning combination at Red Bull with his personal issues. This ultimately led to Adrian Newey and other key people leaving the team. (FALSE – Newey left because of the cost cap – the team could no longer afford him without breaching the cost cap. Aston Martin was able to pay him a huge amount of money)

“Now he’s getting his comeuppance. This will be a huge problem. I lack the imagination to believe that Red Bull will get out of this slump. Pierre Wache has had a year to figure it out after Newey left. If anything, it’s only gotten worse over the winter.

“I think something will happen soon. I hear in the background that Jos Verstappen is fuming.”

De Telegraaf newspaper claims Verstappen disagrees with the decision to sack Lawson, while former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos thinks his fellow Dutchman is already preparing to leave the team.

“I think Max is a bit too relaxed about the whole situation,” he told Ziggo Sport. “I think Max is secretly saying goodbye to the team.”