Helmut Marko absolutely loved what Red Bull hopeful Liam Lawson just said about McLaren

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Liam Lawson knew he had to make an impression on his return to Formula 1 with RB this season.

After jumping into Daniel Ricciardo’s car last year at very late notice, Liam Lawson impressed plenty of people in the paddock over his five-race cameo.

The young Kiwi was unlucky to miss out on a permanent seat for 2024, instead acting as RB and Red Bull’s reserve driver and the F1 director’s favourite person to cut to whenever one of their drivers had an issue.

Red Bull decided with six races to go that the time was right to place Lawson in Ricciardo’s car once again.

However, this time Lawson will be almost certain that he’s got a seat for 2025, but the question is with what team?

Lawson has had run-ins with Sergio Perez on the track and could be called up to replace the Mexican if his performances don’t improve.

If Red Bull want to give the 22-year-old more time, then the final available seat on the grid remains at RB alongside Yuki Tsunoda.

One of the people Lawson needs to impress if he’s going to earn a Red Bull race seat is Helmut Marko.

The chief advisor – alongside Christian Horner – is responsible for promoting Red Bull’s youngsters into F1 and acts as one of Max Verstappen’s key allies in the garage.

A report from F1 Insider has now shared something Lawson has recently said about McLaren that Marko really enjoyed.

The Austrian is no stranger to riling up Red Bull’s rivals on the grid and Lawson will know how important it is to get into his good books.

Helmut Marko loved Liam Lawson’s McLaren anthem jibe

The report from F1 Insider talks about how much Marko is a fan of Lawson and had a big say in his promotion from his reserve driver role this year.

Marko has compared Lawson to Jochen Rindt, who was one of the finest drivers of his generation in the 1960s, before posthumously winning the 1970 F1 world championship.

The Austrian won five races that season before being killed during a practice session at the Italian Grand Prix, but still had enough points to earn the title despite four races remaining that year.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko? Everything to know

Marko is said to like Lawson’s ‘self-confident manner’ and Lawson’s clash with Fernando Alonso proves that he’s willing to go up against anyone in the paddock despite his lack of experience.

Lawson recently disagreed with McLaren not playing the New Zealand national anthem when they win F1 races, despite the team being founded by a Kiwi.

Marko is said to have found Lawson publicly criticising McLaren ‘particularly enjoyable’ which isn’t a surprise given their battles this season.

Liam Lawson in head-to-head battle with Sergio Perez during F1’s final triple-header

The final three races of a gruelling season are going to test every driver’s stamina and concentration.

Although Lawson hasn’t taken part in each of the 21 previous Grand Prix, he has attended every race and done the same amount of travel as his rivals.

A night race in Las Vegas followed by back-to-back Grand Prix in the Middle East will be Lawson’s toughest challenge yet and Verstappen has even warned that drivers could get sick due to the travel and fatigue.

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Lawson’s battle for the final races is with Perez even if they’re in different cars as whoever performs best might end up being Verstappen’s teammate.

Perez has the advantage over Lawson in the RB20 simulator, but the most important thing is what happens on the track.