Helmut Marko: Lawson will not replace Ricciardo at Imola

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko denied rumors that changes will take place in the RB team as early as Imola and that Liam Lawson will get behind the wheel of Daniel Ricciardo’s car. The Austrian called such speculations ‘nonsense’.

Helmut Marko: “Daniel Ricciardo performed well in the sprint in Miami. The fourth result was sensational and he was fast in the third sector, which consists mainly of slow corners. If you drive it correctly you can gain back an incredible amount of time, but if you make a mistake the penalty is double due to the low speed.

This is exactly what happened to Yuki Tsunoda, but three hours later Ricciardo himself made a mistake and did not qualify from the first part of qualifying. But that’s not all: Ricciardo also had no speed in the race. Yuki performed consistently well, while Daniel lacked the speed and confidence he had in the sprint.

Rumors that Liam Lawson will replace Ricciardo at Imola are nonsense. Liam’s manager was present in Miami and apparently some of his dreams became known to the press, including those from New Zealand. Nothing is planned at Imola at all. But of course we are considering Liam’s option for the future.

Tsunoda is certainly on the rise, apart from the race in China. But it’s hard to say what those problems were related to – with the car or with the driver. From the first laps he had no speed. But if Yuki continues to perform as well as in other races, then this is certainly a good letter of recommendation.”