Helmut Marko’s ego has taken a direct hit from Haas, apparently! The Red Bull Chief Advisor spoke gravely about his recruit, Sergio Perez, finishing behind Haas racer Nico Hulkenberg in Austria. While he did provide the reason for Perez’s low score at Red Bull’s home race, the octogenarian also demanded results from the Mexican. With RBR junior Liam Lawson waiting to grab an F1 seat, Marko saying ‘it is not possible’ for Perez to finish behind Hulkenberg seems like an underlying threat to the 34-year-old.

The Austrian GP was a below-par outing for Red Bull. In their backyard, both their racers failed to score a victory as Max Verstappen lost his lead after the crash with Lando Norris, and Sergio Perez lost crucial time after his crash with Charles Leclerc. At this moment, Red Bull sits atop the World Championship table, but their gap to the nearest challenger Ferrari is only 64 points. This stage is crucial for the defending F1 Constructors’ trophy winners because a slight mistake can lead to them losing their position on the point table.

Thus, Helmut Marko wants to ensure Sergio Perez never repeats the disappointing run he had in Austria. While analyzing the race at the Red Bull Ring, he mentioned on Speedweek, “In the race, Perez suffered massive damage to the body after Turn 1 and contact with Leclerc, and the car understeered massively as a result. Unfortunately, these are parts that cannot be replaced during a race. But we now need performance from Sergio, because it is not possible for him to finish behind a Haas racing car.”

Interestingly, Sergio Perez has already signed a contract with Red Bull to retain his seat for another 2 years. But the Milton-Keynes outfit is famous for demoting racers to their sister team, VCARB (formerly AlphaTauri), just like they did with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. In the upcoming year, all speculations point towards VCARB hiring rookie Liam Lawson to partner with Tsunoda. If Lawson shines through, Helmut Marko might replace Perez at Red Bull with the New Zealander. But what did Lawson say about driving for the Austrian team in the future?

Liam Lawson reminds Helmut Marko & Co. of his loyalty to them

At only 17, Red Bull signed Liam Lawson for their junior team under Helmut Marko. With Marko’s mentorship, Lawson got his first break in F1 in 2011 by driving the RB7 for the first time. Last year, he debuted as a substitute for Daniel Ricciardo at the Dutch GP for Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri (now remodeled to VCARB). The 22-year-old impressed everyone with his stint at the Singapore GP where he even scored 2 Championship points for his team.

Lawson’s performance in Singapore led to speculations that Marko would offer him a job at Red Bull soon. Speaking on the possibility of driving for the reigning Constructors’ Championship winners, Lawson said, “I would love to be with Red Bull in F1. They are the strongest team at the moment. I’ve been with them now, this is my sixth year. If I could choose, I would love to be with Red Bull.” Thus, the New Zealand native reminded his team of his six-year-long loyalty, implying that he should get his reward now.

Speaking of Liam Lawson’s reward, it is now clear that he will replace Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB next year. Despite there being no official announcement, the Honey Badger’s underwhelming results show Red Bull would never re-sign him until he makes an impressive improvement in the upcoming races. Among the upcoming races, there is the Hungarian GP where Ricciardo has previously scored a win during his Red Bull days.

Do you think the Australian can replicate that feat to impress Helmut Marko and keep his seat at VCARB in 2025? Let us know in the comments below.