Marko refuses to rule out a new team-mate for Verstappen - 'We will analyse it'

Helmut Marko has refused to rule out a new team-mate for Max Verstappen following Liam Lawson's disastrous start to his Red Bull career.

Red Bull dropped Sergio Perez at the end of last season after the Mexican effectively cost the team the defence of its constructors' championship following an abysmal haul of just 49 points over the final 18 races.

It opted to promote Lawson from the junior team, giving the New Zealander the nod ahead of Yuki Tsunoda after assessing the data when the duo were team-mates at RB for the final six races of last year following the sacking of Daniel Ricciardo.

Lawson, though, has endured a miserable few days with Red Bull so far. After qualifying 19th for the Australian Grand Prix, he qualified slowest in the sprint shootout in China and repeated the miserable feat in qualifying for the grand prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Red Bull advisor Marko pulled no punches when asked about Lawson's results so far. Speaking to Sky DE, he said: "That is not what we imagined, but we will analyse it at leisure."

In contrast to Lawson's displays, his replacement at Racing Bulls, Isack Hadjar, has so far performed superbly.

Hadjar missed out on a place in the top 10 in Australia by a slender margin, and in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, he will start seventh, bouncing back from his crash on the formation lap at Melbourne's Albert Park.

"If we look at the positive, the Racing Bulls, with Hadjar having never driven on this track [in China] before, have notched up incredible times and made no mistakes," added Marko.

"Shadow and sun," referring to success and failure, "are close, and we’ll see what happens."

'A few drivers recommending themselves' - Marko

Marko was heavily critical of Hadjar's tearful reaction to his crash in Australia last week, describing it as "embarrassing".

Reflecting on his comment, Marko said: "We spoke about that, which was a difference of interpretation.

"I also said his performance was sensational until his crash. That can happen, it has happened to others. So far, it is absolutely fascinating."

As to how many races Lawson has to turn his situation around, Marko replied: "We are taking the time to analyse this.

"And there are a few [drivers] recommending themselves. I wouldn’t say imposing, but thank God we are in good shape."

Pressed on whether an in-season change was possible, Marko did not rule it out. "Formula 1 is a competitive sport and in the end, that [performance] is what counts."