F1 News

Helmut Marko on Liam Lawson and Red Bull Racing in Formula 1

Marko complimenting Lawson: 'He drove much better than Colapinto'

6 December 2024 at 09:25

The Formula One paddock has arrived in Abu Dhabi for the final F1 race of the season. It is still not known who will join as Max Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull Racing in 2025, following Perez nearly full season woes. Adviser Helmut Marko had encouraging words for one of the candidates to take over the Mexican's drive, Liam Lawson.

With Sergio Perez's position up in the air, speculation about another driver alongside Verstappen is rife. The names on the shortlist include Lawson, but also Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto. The Argentine came in to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams, and did a great job of it for a few races, even scoring points in his second outing for the team in Baku. As Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon are already signed for Williams for 2025, Colapinto will have to look elsewhere if he is to find a seat for next year.

Marko has encouraging words for Lawson

Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Visa Cash App RB and managed to impress immediately. On his return to the United States, the New Zealander drove to P9 from last and managed to bring in some valuable points for VCARB. Marko also noticed Lawson's driving skills. "Liam Lawson did much better than Colapinto, that somehow eluded me," the Austrian told Kleine Zeitung.

Last weekend, Red Bull found a configuration in Verstappen's RB20 that made him perform an astounding comeback. From fighting for P8 in the Sprint, he went on to get pole - P2 after his one place grid drop following his incident with George Russell- and win the race. Marko hopes the Austrian team can continue on its current form in Abu Dhabi for the season finale "Of course we want to be up front in the season finale as well. This season you never know who the favourite is, given the balance of power. But with Max, you always have a chance to win".

This article was made with assistance from Jeroen Immink

Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!

X | Instagram | Tiktok | YouTube