Helmut Marko: Let's not write Lawson off

      In a new interview, Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko praised Liam Lawson's performances and assured that Max Verstappen would not miss the race for the sake of having a daughter.

      Question: Do you sleep well during the first days of the new season?Helmut Marko: It's really good. Max's second place in Australia turned out to be a higher result than we expected. Now we know for sure that our weakness is in working with tires.

      Our colleagues from Racing Bulls in Melbourne looked great right up to the last pit stop. If it hadn't been for an unsuccessful stop, Yuki Tsunoda would have finished fourth.

      Q: Do you regret that Liam Lawson was called in to replace Sergio Perez, and not Yuki?Helmut Marko: Last year, Yuki lacked stability. Unfortunately, Lawson did not succeed in Melbourne, but no one paid attention to the fact that he was one of the fastest on a drying track. So let's not write him off. Let's see how the first three races go on three different tracks, and then we'll get a more meaningful picture.

      Q: Do you think Max Verstappen will be able to make a difference in the championship thanks to his skills?Helmut Marko: I hope so, but something has to happen for that. As soon as our tires wear out, McLaren gains a second advantage per lap.

      Question: What happened to the Ferrari in Melbourne?Helmut Marko: Lewis Hamilton was the worst driver in those conditions. To this was added the problems in communicating with the racing engineer, who is an experienced specialist in his own right. But they'll pull themselves together, so I'm not writing Ferrari off.

      Question: What do you expect from the Shanghai stage?Helmut Marko: I think the track and the weather suit us better than in Australia. But I'm afraid that the McLaren car may be the best on all tracks at the race distance.

      We are working on fixing the issues, and the good news is that the engineers know what the problem is. We have Max, but we need to give him a car that he can drive to win.

      Question: The last question is about Max. In the coming weeks, the birth of his daughter may coincide with one of the races...Helmut Marko: It doesn't bother him. Racing and fighting in the championship is his absolute priority.