Lawson sits ninth in the drivers’ championship on 83 points, more than double the tally of his rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad, and still has no idea where he will be racing in 2027. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the Mexico City Grand Prix, he admitted the obvious.
“There’s definitely no assurance at the moment [for next year]. It’s a tough sport. Right now, I don’t know what else to say, really,” Lawson told Sky Sports F1.
Racing Bulls are the only team on the 2026 grid yet to confirm either of their drivers for next season. Every other seat on the grid is accounted for, which makes Faenza’s silence the loudest noise in the paddock heading into the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend.
The Red Bull junior at the door
The threat has a name and an age. Nikola Tsolov, 19, is a Red Bull junior fighting for the Formula 2 title in his rookie season, and he made his F1 practice debut for Racing Bulls in Mexico. The young Bulgarian ended FP1 roughly a tenth off Lindblad on his first outing in the car.
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Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer did not hide how impressed the team was, telling Austrian broadcaster ORF that Tsolov’s Friday run was superb and that he had integrated into the team perfectly on his first time in the car.
Bayer acknowledged in the same breath that Lawson had done what the team asked of him, but kept the door open on Tsolov and handed responsibility for the call to team principal Alan Permane, saying the decision rests with Permane and that he will announce it when he feels the time is right.
Three times through the one rule
Lawson’s season has been strong on points and fraught on politics. Inside the Red Bull ecosystem there is one unspoken directive: do not take on Max Verstappen on track. By the Mexico City weekend, Lawson had tripped over that rule three times in 2026, with earlier flashpoints in Miami and Malaysia before the FP2 clash at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
That incident saw Lawson refuse to yield at turn 12, Verstappen run off, and the two then make contact when the champion rejoined. Both team principals, Red Bull’s Laurent Mekies and Racing Bulls’ Alan Permane, described the crash as unacceptable from each driver involved.
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Lawson still delivered on race day in Mexico. Disqualified from qualifying over an energy recovery system infringement and sent out from the pit lane, he fought his way into the points.
What happens if the decision goes against him
The 2027 driver market has already closed almost completely around him. If Permane picks Tsolov alongside Lindblad, Lawson would be looking at a Red Bull ecosystem that has run out of seats, with no obvious landing spot elsewhere on the grid.
Bayer’s wording in Mexico was the cleanest summary of the predicament a driver can get. The paddock consensus is that Lawson has done his part. The team’s job, Bayer said, is to keep promoting young drivers, which is exactly what Tsolov’s Friday run was designed to showcase.
For now, Lawson can only keep scoring. The Sao Paulo Grand Prix runs this weekend at Interlagos, and Racing Bulls have given no date for when Permane will end the wait.
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