Red Bull says it has no say in Lawson decision: It’s up to Racing Bulls
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Liam Lawson’s future was one of the big questions heading into the closing stages of the season. On Thursday, Red Bull finally decided that the New Zealander would stay at Racing Bulls, with Nikola Tsolov serving “only” as reserve driver. But was it really Red Bull’s decision? According to Laurent Mekies, the decision rested entirely with Racing Bulls and team principal Alan Permane.
The relationship between the two Red Bull-owned teams is far from clear. Their bosses’ public statements are one thing; the reality on track is another. Liam Lawson readily gave up his position to Max Verstappen in Brazil, which in football would be the equivalent of deliberately scoring an own goal or even deliberately losing a match. In Formula 1, however, such things are apparently tolerated.
Lawson’s body language makes it clear that his real bosses are in Salzburg and Milton Keynes, not Faenza. According to Laurent Mekies, however, they do not decide Racing Bulls’ driver line-up.
“The Racing Bulls driver decision is down to Racing Bulls. And as much as, yes, we run a common junior programme, we are in the unique positions where, when the good guys are coming out from Racing Bulls, we obviously have the possibility to get them to be promoted to Red Bull Racing, as we have done with Max [Verstappen] and as we have done with Isack [Hadjar]. But how we get to that point is down to them in terms of the F1 stint,” said Mekies.
It is certainly an intriguing stance. In the past, Red Bull decided who occupied all four seats, with Helmut Marko wielding considerable influence over the second team’s line-up. Mekies, however, passed that particular hot potato to Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane as though Red Bull had no say at all.
Could things within the company have changed following the departures of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko? “There is a difference between giving an opinion and having to make a call. I don’t have to make a call,” Mekies stated firmly.
He also refused to reveal what opinion he had offered Alan Permane on the matter. “I’ve just spent three minutes trying to tell that it’s a Racing Bulls decision. I’m not going to publicly vent my opinion so that it becomes a Red Bull Racing decision. No, it’s a Racing Bulls decision. They have all the data, they are very experienced,” Mekies continued.
“Alan is a great guy, he understands racing better than most. It’s probably fair that these guys are taking their time, because from a Red Bull perspective, there is no reason to rush,” added the boss of the Milton Keynes-based team.
