Dr Helmut Marko has not closed the door on further changes to Red Bull's driver lineup — potentially even before the end of the current season.
Red Bull's initial 2025 plan was to promote Liam Lawson to a full-time seat alongside Max Verstappen, but after just two races, the New Zealander was sent back to Racing Bulls.
Marko stands by that decision with no regrets.
"No, because Lawson was in a negative spiral," he told Viaplay in Monaco.
"He is now in the top ten, so that shows that he is recovering. He would not have succeeded next to Max Verstappen."
Lawson's place was taken by Yuki Tsunoda, but with Honda switching to Aston Martin in 2026 and Tsunoda under scrutiny again, questions about his long-term future are mounting.
Marko recently commented on the Japanese driver's difficulty under pressure.
Meanwhile, Red Bull is growing increasingly enthusiastic about Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar.
"When I compare Hadjar to Kimi Antonelli, I heard that Kimi tested about 10,000 kilometres in old cars," said Marko.
"Hadjar tested at most 500 to 800km. That shows how much potential this little young man has. I think he is a potential grand prix winner."
That has sparked speculation that Tsunoda could be dropped entirely from the Red Bull driver program — potentially paving the way for Hadjar to move up and Arvid Lindblad to graduate from Formula 2.
Even Lawson's place in the Red Bull orbit is not guaranteed.
"We normally only talk about the future of the drivers after the summer break," Marko said. "So it is much too early to say anything about all of this now."
Still, Marko made clear that no seat is safe if performance slips.
"Performance is always the most important thing at Red Bull."
Adding to the uncertainty is Max Verstappen's contract situation. While the Dutchman is signed through 2028, reports suggest exit clauses tied to performance could come into play during the summer break.
"We will only look at that after the summer break," Marko said.
"It is far too early for that now. He has a contract until 2028. All contracts have clauses. They mainly have to do with performance. That is not important at the moment."
"We just have to make sure we make the car good enough. Then this whole discussion will be over. At the moment it is clear — he says that he wants to serve out his contract, but we have to give him a winning car, or at least one that he can fight for the world title with."
