Christian Horner clashes with Helmut Marko over driver as Red Bull civil war rages on
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko provided contradictory comments from the Dutch Grand Prix paddock.
Christian Horner has rebuffed Helmut Marko’s claim that Liam Lawson will ‘definitely’ drive for one of Red Bull’s teams in 2025, insisting that nothing is finalised and that there is still hope for Daniel Ricciardo to salvage his F1 career.
Heading into the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Marko raised eyebrows when he clearly stated that Lawson would be driving in F1 next season. With Yuki Tsunoda tied down with VCARB in 2025, this would leave Ricciardo on the chopping block.
Of course, Ricciardo would have one way out of his conundrum: replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull. However, given that he trails Tsunoda 22-12 in the VCARB head-to-head, the Australian will need a sensational 10-race stretch to make him undroppable.
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However, when asked about his colleague’s comments in Zandvoort, Horner contradicted Marko. “Nothing is fixed,” he told Sky Sports F1. “At the moment, we’ve still got a few weeks to make those decisions.
“Obviously we know the situation with Checo and the contract that he has. With Daniel and Liam, there are options within their agreements that, obviously, we won’t talk about in public until things are concluded.”
If Lawson does eventually replace Ricciardo at VCARB then there will be no hard feelings from the Australian’s side. The 35-year-old acknowledged the excellent job that his potential successor did while filling in during his injury lay-off in 2023.
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“It’s OK," he said. “I still know that performance is my best friend and that if I do what I know I can do and capable of, then I think it puts me in a very good position to stay somewhere in the family for next year.
"I’ve just got to focus on that. Speaking of Liam, I got to see him drive the car last year and I do think he did a great job. I do think he is worthy of a seat on the grid, so in a way, I’m happy for him.
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"If he is guaranteed a seat next year, then I think that’s good because he is a deserving driver. So what does that mean for me? Probably a little bit unknown, but if I perform then I’m sure they’ll find a spot for me somewhere.”
Lawson won’t be the only rookie on the F1 grid next season if he does get a VCARB seat. Kimi Antonelli is set to be announced as a Mercedes driver in Monza next weekend, and Jack Doohan’s contract at Alpine was unveiled in Zandvoort on Friday.
