Jolyon Palmer claims Liam Lawson bore 'the brunt' of Helmut Marko's extreme conduct

Thursday, 26 March 2026

A former Formula 1 driver has spoken out in support of Liam Lawson, claiming the Kiwi driver copped the worst of Helmut Marko's extreme conduct in 2025.

Twelve months on from the toughest week of his career, Liam Lawson has weathered the storm, to arrive at Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix in a far more settled spot than this time last year.

Following two grand prix and a sprint race, Lawson sits ninth in the championship race with eight points. At this point last season, Lawson arrived at Suzuka as a freshly demoted Red Bull driver who was back with the energy drink’s manufacturer’s junior team and hadn’t got near scoring a point.

A former senior motorsport advisor for Red Bull, Marko was known for his blunt and brutal manner. An influential figure at Red Bull, he retired last year at the age of 82.

Jolyon Palmer, an F1 driver between 2016 and 2017, who has since transitioned into various media roles, believes Lawson was harmed by Marko's no-nonsense approach at the end of the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

'I think he was a big presence that could be really hard on young drivers coming through, to the benefit of those who could thrive and become world champion,' Palmer told the F1 Nation podcast.

'Liam obviously saw the brunt of that last year,” Palmer said.

However, Lawson has previously stated that while he struggled with Marko’s extreme methods when he was young, they did prepare him for the pressures of F1.

And Palmer can now see how driving under Marko’s programme can help build resilience.

'We've seen it in his wheel-to-wheel battles; he is not afraid to flip the bird to whoever does him wrong in a grand prix, and it also took him a while to get up to speed in the Racing Bulls last year,” Palmer said of Lawson.

“It did remind me as well about the resilience he's got, and you have to say that he is a tough guy.

'It wasn't instantaneous, but he got there, had some good drives, and it was the same thing in Melbourne.

'It could have been really easy for him to say: 'Oh, Lindblad is here and getting all the credit from Australia, but he drove really well in China, getting points in the Sprint and grand prix, and that will settle him down for the year,' Palmer told the F1 Nation podcast.

Free practice 1 begins at 3.30pm (NZT) on Friday, with the lights going out for the Japanese Grand Prix at 6pm on Sunday (NZT).

Follow live coverage right here on Stuff from 5.30pm on Sunday.