Liam Lawson is having the season of his Formula One life driving for the Racing Bulls. He is the clear leading driver from outside the top four teams, having scored a massive 89 points, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly behind him on a mere 42.
The New Zealander has established himself as a regular qualifier in the top ten, alongside being a regular points-scorer in grands prix. Strong drives in Monaco, Canada, Great Britain, Singapore, Mexico, and Brazil have defined his epic year.Yet, for some bizarre reason, he is one of three drivers remaining on the grid without a contract for 2027.
For pretty much any other F1 team, Lawson would now be golden-handcuffed with not just a contract for 2027, but a multi-year deal. Yet once again, the infamous Red Bull junior driver programme is playing games.
In their junior programme, the Red Bull teams have an up-and-coming driver in the Bulgarian, Nikola Tsolov, who is challenging for the F2 drivers’ championship this season.
Due to the breakdown in the relationship between Esteban Ocon and the Haas F1 team, Rafael Câmara spectacularly debuted for the American-owned outfit partway through the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. Having completed free practice one and two, Haas F1 announced Ocon would no longer be racing for them and called up their reserve driver.
Paddock Politics and Verstappen Tensions
The indecision at the two Red Bull racing teams was amplified when, in free practice in Mexico, Lawson appeared to take objection to the fact that Max Verstappen squeezed by him going into the stadium section, taking his revenge by cutting back in front of the four-time world champion. After the session, Verstappen stated that Lawson should “act a little bit smarter” and made an apparent veiled threat suggesting, “when you’re fighting for your seat, it’s not very smart behaviour.”
Former F1 driver and now pundit Johnny Herbert was incensed by Verstappen’s behaviour. “I think it was out of order. It came across to me as a threat. That’s not how you go about your racing. It was totally and utterly out of order… especially against Lawson who is fighting for your career and doing a bloody good job,” he said.
Herbert’s comments were put to Verstappen at the São Paulo Grand Prix. “Do I understand why he says that? I don’t know,” Verstappen told Formule1.nl. “Actually, it doesn’t bother me at all. What do I care? Everything [with Lawson] has simply been discussed properly. So I’ll leave it at that. I think that, in general, it is reasonably clear where things stand and what the rules are. Ultimately, I think it is also good for him to realise it.”
Martin Brundle, in his column for Sky post-the-Mexican Grand Prix, suggested it would be “pathetic” and “childish” if the Verstappen/Lawson incident had a direct impact on the New Zealand driver’s future. Yet bizarrely, the mood in the paddock was that Red Bull was moving away from retaining their sister team driver.
Qualifying Brilliance in Brazil
Despite the paddock gossip, Lawson delivered a stunning performance in qualifying in Brazil. In wet conditions, he put his car into P5, which was upgraded to a P3 start once engine penalties for George Russell and Charles Leclerc ahead were applied. He passed Lando Norris at the start to race in second place for several laps behind race leader Kimi Antonelli, but ultimately finished the race in a more than respectable seventh place as the top teams’ drivers finally held sway.
The Racing Bulls team principal was under pressure to answer questions over Lawson’s future in the São Paulo paddock.Veteran pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz had interviewed Alan Permane the week prior in Singapore over the matter of the RB driver line-up for 2027. “It’s going to be in the coming weeks, let’s say,” was his inconclusive reply.
Since then, Permane has refused to be drawn on the matter. Yet in the São Paulo paddock, Kravitz raised the topic again when in earshot of Permane, almost shouting: “They can’t sack him now, can they?” Permane gave a weary smile and turned on his heel.
A Deal Secured for 2027
Now it appears the tables have turned, with a number of ‘insiders’ claiming a deal has been struck between RB and Liam Lawson for 2027, which will be announced in the run-up to the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Yet this was after another F1 outfit had shown interest in Lawson, as the New Zealand Herald claimed.
Cadillac had “shown interest” in Lawson some time ago, but the Kiwi driver had rejected any approach, preferring to wait on a decision from the Racing Bulls. Further, it has come to light that it was the Red Bull leadership who were keen on bringing in Tsolov, whilst Permane and the leadership team at the Racing Bulls much preferred to retain Lawson.
Clearly Alan Permane has won the argument to retain his driver, despite fierce opposition from the Red Bull Racing leadership.
With the exception of Rafael Câmara, who was propelled into the F1 spotlight during the weekend of the Mexico Grand Prix, junior drivers tend to spend a year with a team as a reserve, learning the ropes and getting used to the physical exertion.
It is unclear whether Rafael Câmara will return to F2 for the closing rounds of the championship or remain with the Haas team, forfeiting the title to Nikola Tsolov. But it does appear to be the case that the team leaves have now fallen in Liam Lawson’s favour, with Tsolov set to be the Racing Bulls test and reserve driver in 2027.
Ultimately, the Racing Bulls retaining Lawson appears to have an equitable appeal amongst those in the paddock
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The Judge, a nom de plume of an experienced F1 journalist and site founder with long-standing sources across the paddock. With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
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