Ralf Schumacher has claimed that Red Bull boss Christian Horner wanted neither Liam Lawson nor Yuki Tsunoda in the car next to Max Verstappen this season.
Red Bull have had a lot of egg on their face this week as they announced the demotion of Lawson back to Racing Bulls with Tsunoda taking his seat at the senior team.
Max Verstappen has publicly shown his discontent at the decision to drop the Kiwi, with the world champion liking an Instagram post accusing the team of 'bullying' Lawson.
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The fact Horner was willing to ditch Lawson after just two races implies he wasn't overly sold on the 23-year-old to begin with, and it has now been revealed he was targeting another driver to partner Verstappen this year.
Speaking via Give Me Sport, Schumacher revealed it was Alpine starlet Franco Colapinto who interested Horner the most out of the drivers available.
"Christian Horner doesn't think much of either of them, (Lawson or Tsunoda) he wanted the Argentinian Colapinto, who, of course, shot himself in the foot when he had those three crashes [last season]," he explained.
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Schumacher went on to claim that Horner and Marko clashed over the prospect of Colapinto due to Marko wanting to use drivers from Red Bull's talent pool.
"Dr. Marko comes along, and internally they don’t really agree on the drivers because one thing was clear. Dr. Marko obviously wanted to take two drivers from his own squad for Red Bull. That was Lawson or Tsunoda."
Red Bull were heavily linked to Colapinto during his time at Williams last season, but the South American signed a long-term deal with Alpine at the start of 2025.
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Marko was seen at the Alpine hospitality during the Chinese Grand Prix, but sources at ESPN have maintained the stance that Colapinto will replace Doohan at Alpine for the European leg of the season.
Following the confirmation of Lawson's demotion, he took to Instagram to release an emotional statement reacting to the team's decision.
He wrote: “Being a @redbullracing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole life.
"It’s tough, but I'm grateful for everything that’s brought me to this point. To every one of you who’s stood by me, thank you for all the support it means the world."
Topics: Formula 1, Red Bull Racing, Liam Lawson, Max Verstappen
Tom Jenkins