Red Bull’s Liam Lawson decision delay suggests ‘big’ change to Helmut Marko’s role behind the scenes

Follow us on Google Discover

For the second year in a row, Red Bull are leaving some critical driver decisions until the final few months of the year.

Whether or not it’s in a bid to keep their drivers on edge and fighting on all cylinders remains to be seen, but it’s not exactly the best preparation heading into the 2026 F1 regulations. It feels like the senior team has been eyeing up Isack Hadjar for some time.

And yet there’s still a chance that the rookie doesn’t get a promotion. For that to happen, Red Bull would probably have to retain Yuki Tsunoda, but there’s always a very slim chance of Liam Lawson or Arvid Lindblad getting the call, too.

Lawson benefited from a Red Bull demotion in 2025, according to his own words. It was a harsh move after two races, but it didn’t exactly yield better results for the team. Red Bull are still yet to decide on Tsunoda’s future – the man who replaced the Kiwi, and has performed disappointingly in his place.

READ MORE: Red Bull told who the ‘hottest candidate’ is to be Max Verstappen’s next teammate, it’s not Isack Hadjar

Red Bull’s delay in 2026 Liam Lawson decision suggests ‘big’ change in Helmut Marko’s influence

Red Bull ‘ideally’ won’t promote Hadjar, suggests Martin Brundle, who thinks that he needs another year to develop before stepping up. Experience will be more vital than ever with a new set of cars and rules to handle, which the Frenchman doesn’t quite have yet.

Red Bull fear losing out on £38 million if they announce that Tsunoda has lost his seat now, and he performs poorly over the next few weeks, despite an important fight for second place in the constructors’ championship being on their hands.

If it were up to the team’s advisor, Helmut Marko, a call might have been made months ago, but Erik van Haren has suggested that the Austrian ‘no longer’ has as much of an influence on such a decision within the team.

“Red Bull has decided, that’s also funny, Helmut Marko has really been saying for months, after the Mexican Grand Prix, we’ll announce which four drivers we’ll have next year,” he said.

“They want to put those four drivers in one. Now it will probably not be until the end of November or maybe even the beginning of December for the race in Abu Dhabi. What that also indicates is that Helmut Marko is not the only one who decides, because, of course, he knows what he wants.

“That is an open secret, Hadjar next to Verstappen and then at Racing Bulls, Tsunoda or Lawson next to Lindblad. Mekies, Oliver Minzlaff, and other people at Red Bull also have a big voice. So it is no longer Dr Marko that decides it all.”

READ MORE: Yuki Tsunoda’s final F1 back-up option has just vanished as pressure mounts on Red Bull decision

What can Liam Lawson do to save his F1 career at Red Bull?

Lawson now leads F1’s worst leaderboard and has suffered the most retirements on the grid this year, after an early DNF at the last race in Mexico.

The best way for him to save his seat is to score points and impress his bosses. He has managed that in just one of his last six weekends.

To save his Formula 1 career, he needs to be in the points at least two or three more times this season, otherwise, there may be doubts over his performance.

The Kiwi definitely has speed, but now is the time to apply it if he wants to get a second full-time campaign in the sport secured.