Horner reveals who pulled the strings behind shocking Tsunoda-Lawson swap

The 52-year-old, speaking on the Drive to Survive series, which is set to premiere on Friday, admitted that despite always supporting the promotion of drivers from the Red Bull junior programme, the decision to switch both drivers after just two races was heavily influenced by the Austrian advisor.

“I was always pushed to take drivers from the [Red Bull] young driver programme. Helmut was a big driver in it,” Horner said.

The 2025 campaign saw Red Bull Racing make a significant shake-up in its driver line-up, with Lawson replaced by Tsunoda as Max Verstappen’s teammate after just two rounds. The Kiwi driver returned to the Racing Bulls outfit following a difficult start, failing to score any points for Red Bull.

Tsunoda, for his part, experienced a season of mixed results before being ultimately replaced as Verstappen’s teammate ahead of the 2026 campaign by Isack Hadjar.

Horner also singled out Marko as integral to the decision that led to his dismissal at Red Bull Racing.

The British motorsport executive served as team principal and CEO at the Milton Keynes-based team before his sacking, which came two days after the 2025 British Grand Prix.

Horner’s dismissal also coincided with a run of underwhelming on-track results as well as severe off-track scuffles in which he was reportedly involved.

The F1 season kicks off in Melbourne. For the full race schedule see here.