Lawson crossed the line ninth at the Circuit of the Americas and heard the kind of praise most drivers chase for a season. “Well done, amazing. Perfect, perfect weekend,” team principal Alan Permane told him over team radio, before joking about a concert Lawson had played in Austin earlier in the week and asking whether he fancied doing another gig in Mexico on Thursday.

The exchange was captured in f1oversteer’s write-up, which also reported Permane’s post-race assessment that it had been “a textbook race from Liam”, with the driver controlling the gap to Pierre Gasly throughout and operating well within himself and the car. Lawson’s own radio reply was unfussy: he told the pit wall he had felt relaxed throughout the weekend.

P9 in the championship, and 63 of 77 points in blue

The Austin result, Lawson’s ninth-place finish on 24 October, extended a run of consistent points scoring and left him ninth in the drivers’ standings on 77 points. Of those, 63 have come since he returned to Racing Bulls, the team principal’s data showing him comfortably clear of teammate Arvid Lindblad on 38 and 35 points up the road from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, as reported by GPblog.

‘I’ve no idea, man’

What the warm radio message has not produced is a signature. Racing Bulls, together with Haas, remain the only teams on the 2026 grid without a confirmed 2027 driver lineup.

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Asked on F1 TV by former grand prix driver Jolyon Palmer when the announcement might come, Lawson laughed it off.

“I’ve no idea, man,” he told Palmer, as picked up by Yahoo Sports. “Honestly at the moment, it’s to a point where I’m not even really thinking about it. I’m just pressing on and enjoying the races, honestly.”

The Tsolov question will not go away

The reason the decision keeps slipping is sitting in Formula 2. Nikola Tsolov, the F2 championship leader and a Red Bull junior, is the candidate Racing Bulls have to accommodate in some form. Permane has repeatedly framed the puzzle in the same way: he has three strong options for two seats, and no obligation to rush.

Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer told the paddock earlier in the season that “ultimately, the driver lineup for next year is a decision that Alan has to make,” while confirming that Lawson and Lindblad were both doing a fantastic job.

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The current expectation across recent reporting is that Tsolov will slot in as test and reserve driver for 2027, with the race seats staying as they are. Tsolov is set to make his official F1 practice debut for Racing Bulls at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Friday 30 October.

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