Red Bull Racing calls emergency talks after China GP woes, as Lawson struggles and the RB21 fails to meet early-season expectations.
Red Bull Racing is facing mounting pressure after a disappointing Chinese Grand Prix, prompting the team to call an emergency meeting at its Milton Keynes headquarters this week. The focus? The underwhelming performance of the RB21—and rising concerns over Liam Lawson.
While Max Verstappen salvaged a fourth-place finish and remains the only Red Bull driver to score points so far this season (36 in total), the gap to McLaren has already widened to a worrying 42 points. More troubling, however, is the form of Lawson, who ended a tough weekend with a lowly 15th place.
“We’re holding an emergency meeting this week to talk about when and how we can close the gap,” confirmed Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. “In the meantime, our goal is simple: score as many points as we can. Yes, we’re concerned—but we’re not giving up.”
Marko singled out the medium tyres as a key reason for the RB21’s lack of pace in China.
“On the hard tyres, Max was matching the leaders. But we lost too much time on the first stint with the mediums. The race was compromised from the start—Max dropped places and perhaps underestimated how tricky the mediums would be.”
“Once we brought him in, his pace was strong again. He caught up to Leclerc, but by then, it was too late.”
“With a clean start and better pace early on, we could’ve fought for the podium,” Marko added.
As for Lawson’s future, rumors of a possible replacement as early as the Japanese Grand Prix aren’t off the table. But for now, Marko insists the car remains the top priority.
“Even Max is asking for more performance from the RB21. We need to fix the car first—that’s the priority.”
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Lawson in the Hot Seat as Red Bull Faces Tough Review Lawson in the Hot Seat as Red Bull Faces Tough Review
