30/03/2025
NEWS STORY
In a bold move, Helmut Marko has said that Yuki Tsunoda will remain with Red Bull for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Following a poor start, Liam Lawson was dropped after just two races, with Marko subsequently admitting that the New Zealander should never have been given the drive in the first place, even though last year he was pushing the team to replace Sergio Perez with him.
Now, Tsunoda, who had been totally overlooked for the Red Bull drive, has finally been promoted, and Marko insists that he will remain Max Verstappen's teammate for the rest of the year.
"Yuki Tsunoda will finish the season," he tells Formel1.de.
"Yuki is a fast driver," he continues, "we know that, but he's had his ups and downs. That's why we thought Lawson was the better and stronger candidate.
"But Yuki has undergone a transformation. He changed his management, and in this situation, this was simply the best option.
"We had to act quickly," he admits, having revealed that the Japanese driver impressed in a simulator run following the Chinese Grand Prix. "Everything was positive. Also the technical feedback, which he had often been accused of lacking, that he didn't understand the technical side or couldn't set up a car. That also turned out to be incorrect."
Meanwhile, the Austrian has confirmed that Verstappen wasn't happy about the decision to drop Lawson.
"We know Max is not happy," he told 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."
In the aftermath of Lawson's demotion, Verstappen was one of several drivers to like an Instagram post in which former F1 driver, Giedo van der Garde, criticised Red Bull's treatment of the kiwi, essentially accusing the Austrian outfit of bullying the youngster.