Liam Lawson's Impact on Racing Bulls: A Crucial Decision Ahead
Liam Lawson is doing everything a young Formula One driver can do to make himself indispensable — and still, his future hangs in the balance.
The New Zealander has dragged Racing Bulls into the fight of their lives, scoring the bulk of the team’s 106 points as they chase fifth in the constructors’ championship and an estimated $180 million payday. For a team of their size, that isn’t just a nice bonus. It’s transformative. It would be the best result in their history.
Yet in the paddock, the noise is growing that Lawson could be the one sacrificed to make room for Nikola Tsolov at the end of the season.
Kravitz Voices the Question Everyone’s Asking
At Interlagos, the tension around that possibility finally spilled into the open.
Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz bumped into Racing Bulls’ sporting director Alan Permane after qualifying and couldn’t resist saying what many in the sport have been thinking.
“They can’t sack him now, can they?” he called after Permane.
Kravitz had his numbers ready. Lawson, he pointed out, had taken 24 points from the last four races. He had just stuck a Racing Bulls third on the grid. Third. In that car.
“They can’t sack him now,” Kravitz insisted.
Then came the hypothetical. Even if Tsolov turns out to be a generational phenomenon – “Max Verstappen, Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso rolled into one” – why the rush? Kravitz argued there is no harm in letting Tsolov spend another year bedding in as a reserve, stacking up FP1 sessions, and learning his craft somewhere away from the full-time firing line.
The message was clear: Lawson has earned time. Tsolov has time. Why compress it?
Permane Plays the Long Game
Permane, though, is not dealing in emotion. He is dealing in process.
Speaking to media on Saturday (NZT), shortly after his own contract extension was confirmed, he laid out Racing Bulls’ stance on their yet-to-be-confirmed 2027 line-up.
“I’m not going to give you a date,” he said. No timelines, no hints, no hostages to fortune.
He pointed to Red Bull’s famed young driver programme, the conveyor belt that has produced champions and cult heroes but also a long list of drivers shuffled in and out at speed.
“I don’t want to be critical of it,” Permane said, before acknowledging the wider perception. When the media question that system, it’s usually about the same thing: some drivers never really get the time to settle. Some decisions come too quickly. Careers can be decided in a handful of weekends.
Racing Bulls, he insisted, are trying to do it differently.
“We’re trying to apply a little bit of science, and that takes some time. We’re looking at everything and studying, analysing.”
The team believes time is their ally. No rush. No snap call. Permane sounded utterly sure of the approach.
“I’m very confident the right decision will be made,” he said. “I realise it’s frustrating for our drivers, I realise it’s frustrating for everyone else. But we want to get it right – we will get it right.
“I’m sure when we announce it in the coming weeks, everyone will be happy.”
Mexico to Brazil: Lawson Keeps Making His Case
While the decision-makers pore over data and scenarios, Lawson is making the argument on track.
In Mexico City, he started from the pit lane, carved his way through the field, and crossed the line in ninth. Post-race penalties ahead of him bumped that result up to seventh. It was the sort of drive that catches the eye of engineers and executives alike: disciplined, opportunistic, fast when it mattered.
Racing Bulls chief executive Peter Bayer didn’t hide who he sees as central to the looming call. After Mexico, he name-checked Permane as the man with the decisive voice in the driver choice.
Then came Interlagos, and Lawson’s third place on the grid underlined the scale of his progress. These are not anonymous midfield drives. These are statement weekends.
One Seat, Two Futures
That is what makes the current stand-off so stark.
On one side, a young driver already delivering points, dragging a midfield car into places it has no right to be, and pushing his team towards a record finish and a vast financial reward.
On the other, a highly rated prospect in Tsolov, backed by a system that has never been shy about rolling the dice on youth.
Permane insists Racing Bulls are resisting the temptation to decide with their gut or their heart. They want data. Trends. Certainty. Or as close to it as Formula One ever allows.
The question is simple, even if the answer is anything but: when a driver like Lawson is performing at this level, can they really afford to let him go?
