Red Bull’s head of driver development Helmut Marko has delivered a subtle swipe at his team principal Christian Horner, expressing frustration over the delayed decision to remove Daniel Ricciardo from the sister team’s driver line-up.

Marko’s comments come after Liam Lawson’s impressive performance at the United States Grand Prix, where he highlighted the value of giving younger drivers a chance.

Marko had been pushing for Ricciardo to be dropped as early as after the Spanish Grand Prix in June, according to Horner himself, following a disappointing start to the season.

However, the decision to replace the veteran driver only came after the Singapore Grand Prix in September.

Marko has been advocating for Lawson to replace Ricciardo since JuneRed Bull focusing on their F1 youth

Lawson’s drive at the Circuit of the Americas was exactly the kind of performance Marko had been advocating for when pushing for Ricciardo’s removal from the Red Bull fold.

Filling in at VCARB for the final six races of the season, Lawson seized the opportunity to prove his worth on the 2025 grid, with his ninth-place finish in Austin underlining the potential that Marko saw all along.

Now, in the wake of Lawson’s outstanding full-time debut in Austin, Marko has dropped a sneaky hint that his calls for change should have been heeded sooner.

“A really great debut,” Marko said to Sky Germany.

“That was already apparent in Q1, where he drove the third-fastest time.

“You have to put the youngsters in the car and then it works,” he said in a thinly-veiled swipe aimed at the Red Bull hierarchy.

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda are in a fight for the 2025 Red Bull seat

Lawson’s performance in qualifying was particularly noteworthy, as he posted the third-fastest time in Q1 despite having a 60-place grid penalty hanging over his head.

His one-lap pace saw him outshine Red Bull’s Sergio Perez by three-tenths of a second, further fuelling the narrative that Red Bull’s future lies with its younger drivers.

On race day, Lawson lined up 19th but wasted no time making his way through the field. A well-executed long stint allowed him to undercut his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who later spun before finishing well outside the points in 14th.

Tsunoda and Lawson are reportedly in a battle to prove they can be the driver to step up and partner Max Verstappen in place of Perez in the future, and Marko is clearly a fan of the young New Zealander.

“He was in control at all times and had great overtaking manoeuvres,” continued Marko.

“He is definitely a man for the future.”