Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has revealed the team is working on a less aggressive set-up to cure its prolonged second seat Formula 1 curse.
Liam Lawson has become the latest in a long line of victims to suffer alongside Max Verstappen in the capricious Red Bull.
Unlike Sergio Perez, whose struggles were prolonged over several months, Lawson has had the cord cut on him early, after just two races.
The inexperienced New Zealander was exposed to the notoriously difficult traits of Red Bull F1 machines during his two Grands Prix at the Milton Keynes-based outfit, and he was unable to find his way into the narrow performance window.
Aggressive and uncompromising, Lawson succumbed to the RB21, with two last-place finishes in Sprint and GP qualifying in China enough to prompt a swap with Yuki Tsunoda for next time out in Japan.
Marko reveals set-up changes to ‘difficult’ Red Bull
Verstappen’s supreme talent has meshed well with the aggressive Red Bull as the Dutchman has no issue finding the narrow performance window – his four consecutive F1 titles proof of this.
But with Lawson being the fifth driver to suffer alongside the Dutchman, Marko has acknowledged its time to open the set-up window to accommodate both Red Bull drivers.
In an interview with Motorsport.com, Marko was probed on the high sensitivity of Red Bull’s cars that Verstappen can handle, which he called “an accurate description.”
The Austrian added: “And that’s exactly what makes it so difficult for the second driver. But we’ve already been thinking about setting up the second car differently — with a less aggressive set-up. Something that makes it easier to handle.”
Perhaps now, with Lawson’s exit coming so suddenly, Red Bull has finally woken up to the main problem on its hands, being the car rather than the revolving door of second drivers.
According to reports, and even Marko himself in recent days, Verstappen was unhappy with Red Bull axing Lawson so early, adamant the New Zealander should be given time.
The Duthcman has also been pegged back by this latest Red Bull machine, consigned to a fourth-place finish in China, and both he and Team Principal Christian Horner agree that Lawson will no doubt go quicker in a more compliant Racing Bulls machine.
“That was actually one of the reasons why he felt the switch from Lawson came too early — because the car is extremely difficult to drive, even for him,” Marko said.
“Max argued that the car is very difficult to drive, and that if the car were better, Lawson’s performance would improve as well.
“Of course, we’re working on further development, but at the moment, it’s hard to predict how quickly that will come.”
This begs the question of why Red Bull couldn’t open its set-up window with Lawson still under the employ of the top team, per Verstappen’s wishes.
That is now academic, with Tsunoda dropped in and adjudged to have the required experience to help Red Bull develop itself out of this mess.
Marko acknowledged ‘Max-specific set-up’
What’s clear in Marko’s mind is that the acclimation issues are a specific Red Bull problem.
This was in response to a theory set out by GP winner turned pundit Ralf Schumacher, who feels Formula 2 drivers are learning a style ill-suited to F1 machines.
But with other rookies faring well, Marko has dismissed such a claim.
“If we take [Isack] Hadjar as an example — he’s driving the Racing Bulls car — and I’d say he made a very good debut, aside from his mistake on the formation lap [in Melbourne],” he said.
“I don’t see Formula 2 being tailored to any specific Formula 1 style or car.
“The cars are so different. And this Max-specific set-up — we’ve already discussed that.
“It’s something only he can handle, and for everyone else, it’s extremely difficult to cope with his kind of car.”
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