Marko clear on Lawson after disappointing result: 'We will wait for three races'
F1 News
After difficult debut in Australia the previous weekend, Helmut Marko responded to the criticism Liam Lawson received. The top advisor is yet to write off the driver from New Zealander.
Marko doesn't want to judge Lawson yet
After the first weekend already, critics immediately assessed Lawson's Red Bull debut: according to some, the Austrians should have promoted Yuki Tsunoda instead from Racing Bulls, after it was announced that Sergio Perez will no longer continue with the team heading into 2025.
Top advisor Helmut Marko explained why Lawson ended up getting the promotion instead. "Yuki lacked consistency last year. With Lawson, unfortunately, things did not go well at all in Melbourne. But what gets pushed under with that is that in dry conditions he was among the fastest in the race," he explained to OE24 ahead of the weekend.
The Austrian therefore does not want Lawson to be judged too quickly, and wants to have more time before making a verdict on Max Verstappen's teammate. "Please don't write him off yet. Let's wait for the first three races. Those are at different circuits, after that a clearer picture will emerge," he continued.
Meanwhile, Lawson had another disappointing result. For the second time in a row, he failed to get past the first part of a session that lines up the grid for the upcoming event. In sprint qualifying, the youngster finished in P20, after struggling with the tyres. However, tomorrow afternoon, he will have another shot at full qualifying.
This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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