Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko says Liam Lawson is not delivering “what we expected” and has teased “we’ll see what happens’ over a potential mid-season swap with Isack Hadjar.

Lawson was signed as Max Verstappen’s new team-mate at Red Bull for the F1 2025 season after Sergio Perez vacated his seat at the end of last year, but has struggled in his early weeks at his new team.

Red Bull to swap Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar?

The New Zealander followed in the footsteps of Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Sergio Perez by failing to make Q3 on his Red Bull debut at last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, where he qualified a distant 18th.

Lawson became the first Red Bull driver of the last decade to fall in Q1 in his first two appearances for the team in China, lapping 20th and last in Shanghai on Saturday.

It came 24 hours after Lawson, who had never raced in Australia and China before this season, also qualified last for the sprint race at the same venue.

Will Liam Lawson last the season at Red Bull?

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

With fellow rookie Hadjar overcoming his own lack of experience to outqualify established Racing Bulls team-mate Yuki Tsunoda on his first visit to Shanghai, Marko appeared to leave the door open to a potential mid-season swap if the situation persists.

Asked about Lawson’s latest disappointing outing, Marko told Sky Germany: “This is not what we expected.

“We will discuss it calmly. We still have a few drivers among them [Red Bull’s junior academy] who can recommend themselves. Thank God we are in a good position.

“Let’s look at the positives: Isack Hadjar, who has never driven on this track before, is banging out incredible times in his second race, making no mistakes.

“What he has shown so far is absolutely fascinating. The sun [Hadjar] and the shadow [Lawson] are close together and we’ll see what happens.”

Put to him that Red Bull could make a change at some point during the F1 2025 season, he added: “Formula 1 is a competitive sport.

“Ultimately, that’s what counts.”

Marko’s comments come after Tsunoda, who was overlooked for a 2025 Red Bull seat, put his name forward as a potential alternative to Lawson, claiming he would be ready to partner Verstappen from the next race in Japan.

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Asked if he would be ready to step in at Suzuka, Tsunoda said: “Yeah, why not?”

“Japan? Yeah, 100 per cent. The [Red Bull] car is faster.”

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of his Q1 exit in China, Lawson admitted that his current performances are “not good enough.”

Asked what he needs in order to get up to speed at Red Bull, he told Sky F1: “I think it’s just time.

“Unfortunately, I don’t really have time, but it’s just one of those things that me driving a Formula 1 car takes 100 per cent confidence in what you’re doing.

“It’s not that I don’t feel confident, but the window is so small that, right now, I just seem to miss it.

“I just need to get a handle on it. I don’t know how else to put it, it’s just not good enough.

“It’s just really tough, honestly. I think the [performance] window [of the Red Bull] is really small.

“That’s known, but it’s not an excuse. I’ve got to get a handle of it.

“It was a messy session. Had we not dealt with traffic and stuff like that it might have been okay, but to be honest it’s still not good enough to be having those issues.

“And that’s the reason that we get knocked out, we should be fast enough on our first lap.

“It shouldn’t be an issue, I just need to get on top of it.”

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