Helmut Marko left ‘laughing’ when asked about the future of one Red Bull driver after Baku – journalist

Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko has an important decision to make in the next few weeks.

Helmut Marko has been in charge of deciding the make-up of Red Bull’s driver line-ups for decades.

Previously, he would work alongside Christian Horner to decide the two driver pairings that Red Bull are responsible for.

Laurent Mekies has delegated Racing Bulls driver decisions to Marko, and there appear to be five drivers fighting over four spots.

Max Verstappen is locked in for another season at Red Bull, but the identity of his teammate is still unknown.

Isack Hadjar is Verstappen’s likely teammate next season, meaning a trio of drivers are fighting to race for Racing Bulls in 2026.

Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson are going head-to-head right now, with Arvid Lindblad expected to be promoted from Formula 2.

Although Lindblad’s recent form has been shaky, Tsunoda and Lawson can’t rely on the British teenager spending one more year in F2 to secure their place on the grid.

They both had brilliant races at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but Marko ‘laughed’ when asked about the New Zealander’s future after his career-best performance in Baku.

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

Helmut Marko ‘laughed’ when asked about Liam Lawson’s Formula 1 future in Baku

Journalist Ronald Vording was speaking from the paddock in Baku on the Motorsport YouTube channel.

Discussing Red Bull’s driver dilemma, he said: “About Yuki, Red Bull shared an interesting detail, by the way.

“They’re coaching him more now. They’re guiding him more with this and this, and this is what you have to do, and that seems to be working. They want to take him under their wing a bit more. Laurent Mekies was mega positive, by the way.

“It almost sounded like a kind of farewell speech, and I thought, isn’t this too positive?

“But he said that after Monza, Yuki found something, he took steps forward, and we want to see that. He also said that because of that, we are waiting for a formal announcement regarding the choice of drivers, because everyone has a Red Bull contract, so we are in no hurry.

“And that the pressure is being turned up a bit. Especially for Liam Lawson. He’s no longer in the mix at Red Bull Racing, but of course, he wants to keep a Racing Bulls seat, which he’ll have to fight for with Lindblad and Tsunoda. So the pressure is on, and those guys are suddenly coming to life.

“When I mentioned this to Helmut Marko, he started laughing and said, ‘Yes, that’s how it works. Pressure in top-level sport is part of it.’

“And well, that pressure is really high this week. So in a way, this comes at just the right time for Liam Lawson.”

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Why Liam Lawson’s best-ever Formula 1 result might not confirm his Red Bull future

It’s believed that Lawson’s chances of returning to Red Bull are minuscule, which is to be expected considering that no driver has ever been promoted into the senior team after previously being dropped.

His best-ever result in F1 coincided with Tsunoda achieving the same thing for Red Bull, albeit the Japanese driver couldn’t find a way to overtake his old teammate.

Marko was privately delighted with Tsunoda, and he appears to be the man Lawson needs to impress to guarantee a seat on the grid next year.

At this stage, it’s almost impossible to know what Racing Bulls are going to do with their driver line-up.

Both Lawson and Tsunoda have struggled to prove that they’re suitable teammates for Verstappen, limiting their long-term potential within the Red Bull set-up.

But Lindblad is so young that rushing him into Formula 1 might also be a bad idea.

The next few races will make Marko’s mind up, but Lawson’s recent improvements will make a difficult decision even harder for Red Bull.