Liam Lawson has finally been given the reward he deserves, with a contract extension for next season with the Racing Bulls. The New Zealand-born driver has clearly been the ‘best of the rest’ driver outside those in the top four teams.
His resurgence has been remarkable, having stumbled last season when promoted alongside Max Verstappen instead of the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda. Lawson survived just the first two Grand Prix weekends of the year before being demoted back to the Racing Bulls outfit alongside rookie Isack Hadjar.
In his recent book, Drive, Christian Horner believes it was the wrong decision to promote Lawson instead of Tsunoda,which leads to speculation that the decision may have been as a result of pressure from Dr. Helmut Marko, who has now retired. “He really shouldn’t have been promoted in the first place,” says Horner, adding “it was too soon.”
Seizing His Chance Back at Racing Bulls
On his return to the Racing Bulls, Liam’s lack of performance was then exposed, as across the 22 race weekends they were paired, Hadjar finished ahead in the Grand Prix 15-7 and by the same margin in qualifying. With the Racing Bulls blooding rookie Arvid Lindblad this season, the decision was made to retain Liam to afford the team some level of experience.
And indeed Lawson has grabbed the opportunity with both hands, only failing to claim points on Sunday four times this year. He sits a massive 47 points ahead of the next best driver, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and 51 points clear of his teammate in the same machinery.
Behind-the-Scenes Power Struggle and Marko’s Backing for Tsolov
However, there appears to have been a power struggle behind the scenes over whether Liam should have been retained for 2027. Prior to the announcement, Dr. Marko backed the Racing Bulls to ditch Lawson and promote their talented junior Nikola Tsolov. Speaking to Austrian publication Krone, he referenced one of the mantras from Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
“We don’t buy stars, we make stars,” argued Marko before nailing his colours to the mast: “The difficult decision between Liam Lawson and Nikola Tsolov at Racing Bulls should actually go in Tsolov’s favour.”
Marko is believed to have sided with the Austrian directors who have taken control since Mateschitz passed away, over the sacking of Christian Horner. And the director with sole responsibility for Red Bull’s F1 programme, Oliver Mintzlaff,is believed to remain in contact with Marko as an informal advisor.
Mintzlaff, Verstappen, and Paddock Friction
Now journalist Franco Nugnes reveals to Italian Motorsport.com the extent of Lawson’s difficulty in remaining with the Racing Bulls long term. “I believe he has only one truly major problem. Everyone points to Mintzlaff — the CEO of Red Bull’s sports division — as the person who, let’s say, stands in his way.”
Nugnes further suggests that Liam’s relationship with Max Verstappen may hinder any further promotion to the Red Bull team after the pair crashed in practice at the Mexican Grand Prix. Both were awarded a one-place grid drop penalty, and when asked, Max was unimpressed with Lawson’s actions when asked if the situation had been unlucky.
“Well, I don’t think it’s called unlucky,” he replied: “Maybe not very smart behaviour, what he was trying to do there. But I mean, at the end of the day, it’s not going to change my weekend. But if I would be him, I would act a little bit smarter.Also, when you’re fighting for your seat, it’s not very smart behaviour.”
Nugnes goes on to highlight the extraordinary influence Verstappen has as a driver in the Red Bull Racing organisation.”Max Verstappen wields a level of power within Red Bull that is far greater than what is typically granted to a driver, even a champion.”
Mekies and Permane Push Back on Snap Decisions
Following Verstappen’s comments, Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies was asked whether Max would have any say in Lawson’s future. “No, I think you know you have to separate both aspects. You have some things that were very unnecessary on the track and therefore are frustrating for the drivers involved and frustrating for the teams involved, and this is probably what you hear with Max’s answer, and then there are driver decisions,” he said live on Sky Sports F1.
“Racing Bulls [driver line-up is] down to them and only down to them,” Mekies insisted before adding: “Max knows motorsport far too much to be influenced by a single episode anyway.”
As the weeks dragged on without Lawson being announced for 2026, Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane was quizzed repeatedly on the matter in Mexico. He appeared frustrated not with the question, but with the scenario behind the scenes,taking a swipe at Red Bull ditching drivers too quickly.
Permane told Sky: “Red Bull’s had a very successful young driver programme, and I think, if I want to be… and I don’t want to be critical of it, but I think if you guys are critical of it, maybe sometimes the drivers haven’t been able to have enough time to settle, or maybe some snap decisions have been made. We’re trying to apply a little bit of science, and that takes some time. So, we are looking at everything and studying, analysing, and time is on our side.”
“We’re not in a rush to do anything, and I’m very confident the right decision will be made,” Permane added. This comment was particularly telling given the framing of the conversation was based on the notion, ‘Surely, Liam has done enough to retain his seat for 2027.’
What Comes Next for Lawson in 2028
So it’s clearly been a battle for the Racing Bulls boss to ensure the decision over Liam Lawson was his and his alone. And for the New Zealand driver he now knows where he stands — in that 2027 is all about him finding another racing seat in Formula One for 2028.
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