Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner points to former top advisor Helmut Marko as the one responsible for Liam Lawson’s demotion to Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls. In the new season of Drive to Survive, Horner says it was former advisor Marko who had Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda swap places at the start of 2025.
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After driving only two races in Red Bull colors, Lawson was demoted to Racing Bulls at the start of 2025 and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. Former team principal Christian Horner emphasizes that it was the now former top advisor Marko who ultimately made this decision. The Briton himself has often stated that he had ‘little confidence’ in the Japanese driver’s performance. The replacement of the New Zealander therefore felt to him like a counter-argument from Marko. “I was always urged to take drivers from the Red Bull junior program. Helmut played a big role in that,” said Horner.
‘Helmut Marko advised’
In July, Horner was dismissed as Red Bull team principal. Since then, Laurent Mekies has been at the helm of the Austrian team. At the end of the 2025 season, it turned out that Tsunoda did not perform as the team had envisioned. He is now a reserve driver for the upcoming season, while Isack Hadjar has taken his place at Red Bull.
The reason Horner was sidelined by Red Bull is a result of the team’s underperformance in the first half of the 2025 season. Who had him dismissed is clear to the Briton. “I think things are changing within the team. After Dietrich Mateschitz passed away, people expected me to get too much power. However, I don’t believe the Verstappens are responsible for this. It was a decision by Oliver Mintzlaff – CEO of Red Bull GmbH – who was advised by Helmut Marko,” Horner concluded.
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The eighth season of Drive to Survive premieres on Netflix on February 27. Watch the trailer below:
New faces, new rivalries, new drama.
FORMULA 1: DRIVE TO SURVIVE S8 arrives 27 February. pic.twitter.com/8p9xOHxVaB
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