Helmut Marko won’t be happy when he hears Liam Lawson radio at Chinese Grand Prix, ‘I honestly don’t know…’

Liam Lawson has qualified 20th and last in back-to-back sessions at the Chinese Grand Prix. It’s been a wretched start to his Red Bull career.

Lawson has failed to escape Q1 in any of his three qualifying sessions so far. He was 18th on his debut for the team in Australia and crashed out of a wet race.

Martin Brundle expressed sympathy for Lawson in China after he propped up the order in Sprint qualifying. He started the shorter race from the pit lane and progressed to 14th place.

In Grand Prix qualifying later on Saturday, Lawson set a 1:32.174, around two-tenths shy of what he needed to make Q2. Teammate Max Verstappen was seven-tenths quicker.

Helmut Marko won’t like Liam Lawson making excuses at Chinese Grand Prix

Following Lawson’s exit, replays showed his preparation for his final lap in Q1. Alpine driver Pierre Gasly darted down the inside into the last corner.

Lawson, who briefly locked his right-front brake, was clearly disrupted. He complained about Gasly’s driving over the radio.

“Mate, Gasly just… I don’t know why, I honestly don’t know why he needs to do that,” he said.

Speaking in commentary for Sky Sports, however, Brundle didn’t sound impressed. He believes Lawson just needs to accept the ‘dog-eat-dog’ nature of Formula 1.

“You’ve got to take your chances,” he said. “Gasly’s out [of qualifying] as well, as is Lawson. It was a very slow run-in, but it’s dog eat dog out there.”

Red Bull’s notoriously ruthless motorsport advisor Helmut Marko won’t be pleased to hear his driver making excuses on the radio. He’s staying patient with Lawson for now, but P20 is beyond the pale.

Fellow youngster Kimi Antonelli realised a driver has ‘no friends’ in F1 when Verstappen spoiled his out lap in Mexico last year. Lawson may need to learn the same lesson.

Liam Lawson will be embarrassed by what Red Bull staff are saying in the F1 paddock

To Lawson’s credit, he took responsibility in his post-session interview with Sky.

“It’s not an excuse,” he said. “I’ve got to get a handle of it. It’s not good enough. We should be fast enough on our first lap. I just need to get on top of it.”

Still, James Hinchcliffe says Lawson will be lucky to last six months if he continues to struggle. Red Bull have made more mid-season driver changes than any other team in recent years.

Speaking in the paddock on Friday, Red Bull staff conceded the constructors’ championship. They were laughing at the time, but it also pointed to a lack of faith in their second driver.

Lawson will be embarrassed if he hears about that exchange. But he’d be wise to stay off social media, with some Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda fans no doubt on his back.