Liam Lawson questions what more Red Bull expects as F1 future remains uncertain

Michelle Foster

31 Oct 2026 7:09 PM

A software bug cost Liam Lawson time under a VSC at COTA

Liam Lawson is “not really sure” what more is expected of him from Red Bull as he looks to secure his place on the F1 grid with Racing Bulls for the F1 2027 championship.

Despite sitting best of the rest in the Drivers’ Championship with five rounds remaining, Lawson’s Racing Bulls future is rumoured to be on the line, with Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov waiting in the wings.

Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls future remains uncertain despite strong F1 season.

Lawson has established himself as a strong midfield contender for Racing Bulls, having scored points in all but four Grands Prix.

He also impressed during his substitute appearances for Isack Hadjar at Red Bull, making him one of the most consistent points-scorers.

His regular top-ten results have put him comfortably ninth in the standings, 35 points ahead of Pierre Gasly.

It has also all but assured Racing Bulls, barring a monumental disaster, of fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship. With five race weekends remaining, the squad is 33 points ahead of Alpine.

And yet Lawson is still answering questions about his F1 future.

According to paddock speculation, should Red Bull opt to change the Racing Bulls line-up, it is Lawson and not his teammate Arvid Lindblad, who would lose his race seat.

Lawson doesn’t know what more he could do to swing the odds in his favour.

“I just feel like it’s been a very strong year for us, and especially the second half, things have been very, very strong,” he told the media ahead of the Mexican GP weekend.

“And trying to find that consistency in Formula 1 is very, very hard.

“It can go away for me very quickly. With how many variables there are, it’s obviously something that’s always a factor. But for us, I think we’ve maximised really a lot this year, especially the second half.

“So, yeah, I’m not really sure what more is expected, but I’m also not really sitting here thinking too much about the whole seat selection thing.

“Just because a year ago I thought about it a lot, it was very much in my head, and it just makes you overthink things.

“And so this year, I feel like I haven’t really thought about it much at all, and things have been strong. So I’m just trying to keep that mindset up, trying to score as many points as I can and end the season with as many as I can.”

Go deeper: Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls contract

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F1 2027 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for the 2027 grid?

Lawson is adamant that every time he has climbed into an F1 car this season, whether with Racing Bulls or Red Bull, he has done everything he could.

“That’s the biggest thing as a driver, like, you come away from a weekend, sometimes even if your car can’t score points, I think the biggest thing is personally you want to be able to walk away and feel like you’ve done everything you can,” he said.

“And if you’ve done that, that’s a satisfying feeling. Well, it can be, at least. It’s more satisfying than if you don’t, if you make a mistake or something like that.

“So I do feel like this year there’s always things you can do better, and I’m sure looking over the year there’s a lot of things to tidy up. But overall, I feel like I’ve done a very strong season, and I think I would feel like if I wasn’t driving next year, I would feel like there wasn’t much more that I could have done.”