Liam Lawson shares ‘cutthroat’ 6am Helmut Marko calls he ‘really struggled to deal with’

Follow us on Google Discover

Liam Lawson will return to Formula 1 at the United States Grand Prix this weekend. Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB for the final six races of 2024.

Red Bull have made an early change so that Lawson can audition for a 2025 seat at the top team. If he performs well against Yuki Tsunoda, who’s driven the car all year and been with the team since 2021, then he could replace Sergio Perez next season.

Lawson immediately competed with Tsunoda last term when he stood in for an injured Ricciardo. But the Japanese driver appears to have gone up a level in 2024, reaching Q3 nine times and bagging points on eight occasions.

And should the New Zealander struggle, he’s at risk of missing out on a seat altogether, with no firm contract in place for 2025. It’s a truly remarkable situation for a young driver to be in.

F2 high-flyer Isack Hadjar is a contender for an RB seat, while Helmut Marko is a big fan of Williams’ Franco Colapinto. Red Bull could enquire about bringing Argentine into their driver pool if, as looks increasingly likely, a loan move to Sauber doesn’t come off.

Karun Chandhok is worried about Lawson, who will receive a 10-place grid penalty at the Circuit of the Americas due to an engine component change. He’ll also have just one hour of practice on Friday before his first qualifying session for 12 months.

Helmut Marko threatened Liam Lawson with Red Bull axe

During an appearance on the F1 Nation podcast, Lawson offered some insight into his relationship with Marko. The Austrian is notorious for his ruthlessness, and based on the latest revelations, that reputation is deserved.

After Lawson joined the Red Bull academy, Marko would call him at 6am following any underwhelming race weekends. He warned him that his future was at risk if he failed to improve.

Lawson says he ‘struggled’ to cope with the pressure at first. But, as he stands on the verge of a full-time F1 seat, he’s ‘thankful’ for that ‘cutthroat’ management style.

“For me it was when I was 16 and 17 years old – my first year with Red Bull,” he said. “Going from not being with a junior team, and just having my guys from New Zealand who had helped me get to where I was at that point, to then have Red Bull Racing and have Dr Marko calling and putting the pressure on you, that was what I really struggled to deal with.

“It’s normally a 6am phone call, and it’ll be ‘you need to perform better, next weekend if you don’t perform better you’re in trouble’, you need to basically win races. It’s quite often, if you haven’t had a good race, ‘if this continues, you won’t have a future with this team’.

“It’s very cutthroat. But honestly, I’m so thankful to have gone through that with Helmut.”

How Liam Lawson compared to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in recent Pirelli test

Red Bull signed Lawson in 2019, a season that saw him race in numerous series. He finished 11th in F3, but the team would have been encouraged to see him win the Toyota Racing Series and take second in the Euroformula Open Championship.

The following year, he improved to fifth in F3, which was enough to reach the next rung. He once again needed a year to adapt in F2 but he placed third in 2022, six places better off than his rookie campaign.

His CV also includes runner-up finishes in DTM and Super Formula, but it was his five-race F1 cameo in 2023 that transformed his career. Having spent much of the season with RB and taken part in numerous test sessions, he’ll feel reasonably well prepared.

Lawson outpaced Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in a recent Pirelli test at Mugello, but he was a few tenths slower than Charles Leclerc. It’s hard to say how representative these times – set on 2025 rubber – really are, but Red Bull will be studying the data from his 118-lap outing intensely.