Horner says Lawson should not have been promoted to Red Bull in 2025

Christian Horner says Liam Lawson should not have been promoted to Red Bull for the start of 2025, a decision reversed after just two grands prix when the team replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda.

In his memoir *Drive*, quoted by RacingNews365, Horner says Red Bull would be asking a great deal of a driver with only 11 grands prix of experience. “I felt uncomfortable,” he writes.

Horner says Helmut Marko pushed for the promotion. He also alleges that, before the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Marko told Lawson he would drive for Red Bull because of Marko’s influence. Horner writes that Marko denied this when challenged.

When chosen to replace Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen, Lawson had not previously experienced an F1 pre-season or begun an F1 campaign. He had also never raced at Albert Park or Shanghai, the opening two venues for 2025.

An engine problem cost Lawson most of final practice in Melbourne. He qualified 18th and spun out of the race in difficult conditions, with Verstappen also finding the RB21 troublesome.

In China, Lawson was 20th on the grid and finished 12th, but Red Bull sent him back to Racing Bulls before the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Horner says the return was tough for Lawson and that his confidence had been badly damaged.

Back at Racing Bulls, Lawson took a career-best fifth place in Azerbaijan and ended the 2025 drivers’ championship in 14th.