Liam Lawson facing nervous F1 2027 wait as Racing Bulls responds to Verstappen decision

Max Verstappen’s Red Bull extension may have brought “calm” to F1’s silly season, but uncertainty remains over Liam Lawson with Racing Bulls is in no hurry to decide its F1 2027 line-up.

Verstappen and Red Bull put an end to rumours about the Dutch racer’s future when they announced ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix that he would not only continue with the team next season, but had also extended his contract to 2030.

Liam Lawson facing nervous wait with Racing Bulls in no rush over F1 2027 lineup

Verstappen was not only linked to McLaren, with multiple sources telling PlanetF1.com that he was talking with the reigning world champions, but there were also suggestions that he could quit the sport altogether.

A clause in the four-time world champion’s contract meant that Verstappen could have decided after the Hungarian Grand Prix to walk away from Red Bull as he was outside the top two in the drivers’ standings.

He instead chose to remain, and also extended his contract for a further two seasons through to 2030.

That not only ended speculation about his future, but also silenced rumours that he could replace Oscar Piastri at McLaren or George Russell at Mercedes.

Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “Great news on Max, honestly, because that’s obviously calming the whole system down.”

But while Verstappen’s future is decided, his Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar has yet to be confirmed, while junior team Racing Bulls has also yet to rubberstamp either of its two drivers.

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This season Racing Bulls’ charge is being led by Lawson, who is in his second full season in Formula 1, alongside rookie racer Arvid Lindblad.

The teammates have scored 49 and 23 points respectively to put Racing Bulls fifth in the constructors’ championship.

“We are very happy with both Liam and Arvid and the job they’re doing,” Bayer continued. “So we’re not in a rush.

“We have a good pool of drivers coming up through the junior programme.

“So I guess Alan [Permane] really wants to keep everyone calm, everyone focused, and he will decide when the perfect moment is to inform the drivers and everyone here.”

Although Hadjar is expected to remain at Red Bull after Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies gave him his vote of confidence, and Lindblad is being tipped to continue at Racing Bulls, Lawson is under pressure from Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov.

Tsolov currently leads the Formula 2 standings with six victories so far this season, and Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane has described the Bulgarian as being “next in line” for an F1 promotion.

PlanetF1.com understands that the most likely scenario is for Lawson to be retained alongside Lindblad for 2027, with Tsolov potentially taking a reserve role.

Bayer was asked whether having Tsolov waiting in the wings poses a “problem” for the team.

“No, because, look, as I said before, Arvid and Liam are both doing a fantastic job,” he said.

“Liam is, I think, on P9 currently in the drivers’ ranking and he’s shown great pace in qualifying and in races.

“Same really goes for Nicola, who’s doing a really, really good job in Formula 2.

“Ultimately, the driver line-up for next year is a decision for Alan to take, and so he will do the best thing for the team.”

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