‘Not happy’ – Red Bull boss confirms Max Verstappen anger at driver swap after liking ‘bullying’ post
Max Verstappen hasn’t been shy about letting the world know how annoyed he is at Red Bull’s dramatic driver swap. The reigning F1 world champion has a new teammate just two races into the season after Liam Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. Helmut Marko has confirmed all is not well with Max Verstappen at Red BullGetty The pair both competed for Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls last year before Lawson got the nod to partner Verstappen in December. However, after the New Zealander failed to score a point across the opening two grands prix the decision was made to swap the two. Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, who have a close relationship with the Verstappen family, revealed that Red Bull’s No.1 driver wasn’t happy with the call. His father, Jos, who has acted as an unofficial spokesperson for his son in recent years, was among the people to publicly wish Lawson the best after the news broke on social media. Verstappen himself then tellingly liked a post on Instagram saying Red Bull’s actions ‘comes closer to bullying or a panic move’. Now, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed the team are aware that their superstar driver disagreed with their decision. “We know Max is not happy,” admitted Marko to De Telegraaf. “But we need two cars at the front. Not only for the Constructors’ Championship, but also to help Max get his fifth world title. “Then you can strategically achieve more in races. We can use Yuki’s experience and form well now. “That’s what counts. At the end of the day, that’s to the team’s advantage. And so that means also in favour of Max.” Verstappen will have had three teammates in four races after Lawson was axedGetty Verstappen made his feelings clear after Lawson’s axing was confirmedInstagram Eyebrows were raised when Red Bull promoted Lawson, who only had 11 races in F1 under his belt, over the more experienced Tsunoda. During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, team principal Christian Horner detailed Lawson’s character and ability to deal with the pressure of being Verstappen’s teammate. However, less than 100 days later, Marko revealed the 23-year-old was demoted after losing confidence in Red Bull’s problematic RB21. In addition to not scoring a single point, Lawson failed to escape the first part of qualifying across any format and qualified in last for both the Chinese Grand Prix sprint and the main race. “Liam has had the necessary bad luck,” Marko added. “During the test days in Bahrain, he missed a lot of time because of mechanical problems. And also during the third free practice in Australia he lost important time. This was Red Bull principal Horner speaking on talkSPORT in December Not since Daniel Ricciardo have Red Bull had a second driver on pace with VerstappenGetty “Then the problems started. The pressure on him got bigger and bigger. He lost confidence, started trying harder and harder, but made more mistakes as a result. “In China it went from bad to worse. Added to that, our car is very difficult to drive, and not the fastest.” That latter admission has proved to be among Verstappen’s other gripes with Red Bull and part of his sympathy towards Lawson. The 27-year-old has become increasingly frustrated with his team’s regression since dominating both F1 championships in 2023. Only a strong start to last season gave Verstappen the platform to clinch a fourth Drivers’ title after enduring a 10-race winless streak – his longest barren run since 2020 – while Red Bull finished third in the constructors’ standings. Verstappen’s fears about the RB21 during testing have since been realised, with his car’s package significantly inferior to McLaren. The Belgian-born driver, who is a long-time Mercedes target despite being under contract until 2028, has regularly said his priority is to be in a race-winning car. Red Bull held a crisis meeting at their factory on Thursday in which their prized asset’s concerns were a key talking point. Marko told Austrian outlet OE24: “This meeting is primarily about Max sitting down with the technicians and going through the next steps. “The aim is to calmly address Max’s wishes and criticisms.” PosDriverNationalityCarPts1Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren442Max VerstappenNEDRed Bull Racing363George RussellGBRMercedes354Oscar PiastriAUSMcLaren345Kimi AntonelliITAMercedes226Alexander AlbonTHAWilliams167Esteban OconFRAHaas108Lance StrollCANAston Martin109Lewis HamiltonGBRFerrari910Charles LeclercMONFerrari811Nico HulkenbergGERKick Sauber612Oliver BearmanGBRHaas413Yuki TsunodaJPNRacing Bulls314Carlos SainzESPWilliams115Isack HadjarFRARacing Bulls016Pierre GaslyFRAAlpine017Liam LawsonNZLRed Bull Racing018Jack DoohanAUSAlpine 019Gabriel BortoletoBRAKick Sauber0
Max Verstappen hasn’t been shy about letting the world know how annoyed he is at Red Bull’s dramatic driver swap.
The reigning F1 world champion has a new teammate just two races into the season after Liam Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda.
The pair both competed for Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls last year before Lawson got the nod to partner Verstappen in December.
However, after the New Zealander failed to score a point across the opening two grands prix the decision was made to swap the two.
Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, who have a close relationship with the Verstappen family, revealed that Red Bull’s No.1 driver wasn’t happy with the call.
His father, Jos, who has acted as an unofficial spokesperson for his son in recent years, was among the people to publicly wish Lawson the best after the news broke on social media.
Verstappen himself then tellingly liked a post on Instagram saying Red Bull’s actions ‘comes closer to bullying or a panic move’.
Now, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed the team are aware that their superstar driver disagreed with their decision.
“We know Max is not happy,” admitted Marko to De Telegraaf.
“But we need two cars at the front. Not only for the Constructors’ Championship, but also to help Max get his fifth world title.
“Then you can strategically achieve more in races. We can use Yuki’s experience and form well now.
“That’s what counts. At the end of the day, that’s to the team’s advantage. And so that means also in favour of Max.”
Eyebrows were raised when Red Bull promoted Lawson, who only had 11 races in F1 under his belt, over the more experienced Tsunoda.
During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, team principal Christian Horner detailed Lawson’s character and ability to deal with the pressure of being Verstappen’s teammate.
However, less than 100 days later, Marko revealed the 23-year-old was demoted after losing confidence in Red Bull’s problematic RB21.
In addition to not scoring a single point, Lawson failed to escape the first part of qualifying across any format and qualified in last for both the Chinese Grand Prix sprint and the main race.
“Liam has had the necessary bad luck,” Marko added.
“During the test days in Bahrain, he missed a lot of time because of mechanical problems. And also during the third free practice in Australia he lost important time.
“Then the problems started. The pressure on him got bigger and bigger. He lost confidence, started trying harder and harder, but made more mistakes as a result.
“In China it went from bad to worse. Added to that, our car is very difficult to drive, and not the fastest.”
That latter admission has proved to be among Verstappen’s other gripes with Red Bull and part of his sympathy towards Lawson.
The 27-year-old has become increasingly frustrated with his team’s regression since dominating both F1 championships in 2023.
Only a strong start to last season gave Verstappen the platform to clinch a fourth Drivers’ title after enduring a 10-race winless streak – his longest barren run since 2020 – while Red Bull finished third in the constructors’ standings.
Verstappen’s fears about the RB21 during testing have since been realised, with his car’s package significantly inferior to McLaren.
The Belgian-born driver, who is a long-time Mercedes target despite being under contract until 2028, has regularly said his priority is to be in a race-winning car.
Red Bull held a crisis meeting at their factory on Thursday in which their prized asset’s concerns were a key talking point.
Marko told Austrian outlet OE24: “This meeting is primarily about Max sitting down with the technicians and going through the next steps.
“The aim is to calmly address Max’s wishes and criticisms.”
Pos Driver Nationality Car Pts 1 Lando Norris GBR McLaren 44 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 36 3 George Russell GBR Mercedes 35 4 Oscar Piastri AUS McLaren 34 5 Kimi Antonelli ITA Mercedes 22 6 Alexander Albon THA Williams 16 7 Esteban Ocon FRA Haas 10 8 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin 10 9 Lewis Hamilton GBR Ferrari 9 10 Charles Leclerc MON Ferrari 8 11 Nico Hulkenberg GER Kick Sauber 6 12 Oliver Bearman GBR Haas 4 13 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Racing Bulls 3 14 Carlos Sainz ESP Williams 1 15 Isack Hadjar FRA Racing Bulls 0 16 Pierre Gasly FRA Alpine 0 17 Liam Lawson NZL Red Bull Racing 0 18 Jack Doohan AUS Alpine 0 19 Gabriel Bortoleto BRA Kick Sauber 0
