Liam Lawson given kick in the teeth by former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko

Helmut Marko has revealed he would choose Nikola Tsolov over Liam Lawson for a Racing Bulls seat next season.

The comments come with Lawson's future at the Faenza-based outfit still unresolved heading into the closing rounds of this year.

Lawson has done a sterling job, however, with the New Zealander the leading driver in the standings behind those racing with the 'big four' teams of Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.

Even taking into account the 14 points Lawson scored during his three-race cameo with Red Bull just after the summer break as the replacement for an injured Isack Hadjar, the New Zealander would still be comfortably clear of 10th-placed Pierre Gasly.

Tsolov, meanwhile, is next in line in the Red Bull pipeline. The Bulgarian finished runner-up in last year's F3 championship, and is currently second in this season's F2 with two rounds remaining in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, provided they go ahead.

Marko, the long-time architect of Red Bull's junior programme, has made clear where his sympathies lie when reflecting on the Lawson-Tsolov dilemma.

He has pointed to the junior driver's development in F3 and F2 as proof of Red Bull's long-standing philosophy of promoting its own talent.

Referring initially to Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of the two F1 teams who passed away in October 2022, speaking to Krone, Marko said: "I subscribe to a saying by Mateschitz: 'We don't buy stars, we make stars'.

"We've always sought out our own drivers who are capable of winning a grand prix. With a few exceptions, it's worked.

"In keeping with that philosophy, the difficult decision between Liam Lawson and Nikola Tsolov at Racing Bulls should really go in Tsolov's favour."