Helmut Marko confirms Max Verstappen Red Bull driver swap anger

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed that Max Verstappen is "not happy" with the team's driver swap after just two races. 

It was announced on Thursday morning that Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda would swap seats from next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, but not due to the New Zealander's performances. 

Lawson failed to score a point across the opening two grands prix and also failed to escape the first part of qualifying across any format. 

He qualified in 20th for both the China sprint and the Chinese Grand Prix, with Marko recognising that the young driver quickly lost confidence in the problematic RB21.

"Liam has had the necessary bad luck," Marko told De Telegraaf.

"During the test days in Bahrain he missed a lot of time because of mechanical problems. And also during the third free practice in Australia he lost important time. 

"Then the problems started. The pressure on him got bigger and bigger. He lost confidence, started trying harder and harder, but made more mistakes as a result. 

"In China it went from bad to worse. Added to that, our car is very difficult to drive, and not the fastest."

Verstappen unhappy

Whilst Lawson was clearly struggling at the Milton Keynes-based team, Marko has stressed that his demotion back to Racing Bulls was not a decision taken lightly. 

However, the Austrian also recognises that Lawson is fortunate that Red Bull has a sister team, otherwise he would have found himself without an F1 seat.

"It wasn't an easy decision either," insisted Marko. "But Liam was like a stricken boxer. And we are not throwing him out of Formula 1.

"He remains active within Red Bull and the Racing Bull is a good car. We also had to make similar decisions in the past with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon.

"They then recovered and are highly regarded Formula 1 drivers. We are in the unique position of being able to do this. In another team, he would have left Formula 1 immediately."

Red Bull has received significant criticism for making a driver change after just two races, in particular from Verstappen. 

The four-time world champion is unhappy with the team's decision to drop Lawson; however, Marko has insisted that Tsunoda's experience is key to the Dutchman claiming another title.

"We know Max is not happy," revealed Marko. "But we need two cars at the front. Not only for the constructors' championship, but also to help Max get his fifth world title.

"Then you can strategically achieve more in races. We can use Yuki's experience and form well now.

"That's what counts. At the end of the day, that's to the team's advantage. And so that means also in favour of Max."