Red Bull is considering a temporary transfer for Lawson after his strong performances

Liam Lawson can look back with great satisfaction on his temporary loan to Red Bull Racing, where the New Zealander stood in for the injured Isack Hadjar. As Max Verstappen’s teammate, Lawson showed he has grown as a driver since his earlier, brief stint alongside the Dutchman. Where there was once doubt about whether Lawson had a long-term future in the sport, that doubt should now be gone.

Lawson’s strong races at Red Bull Racing couldn’t have come at a better time for him. Red Bull must make a final decision in the coming months about who will drive for which of the Austrian energy drink manufacturer’s teams next season. It’s no secret that Verstappen and Hadjar will remain with the main team.

The bigger question seems to be who will end up at Racing Bulls, although GPblog has been hearing for some time that Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson will also form a pairing in 2027. After his stint at Red Bull Racing, the latter is said to be even more firmly in the saddle. Nevertheless, Alan Permane is not revealing anything publicly about what will happen next year.

The Racing Bulls team principal is explicitly keeping the door open for Nikola Tsolov to get a chance, in which case as Lawson’s replacement: “We're under no pressure to announce what we're doing yet next year. Nikola is, of course, featured in our thoughts, and he's having an incredible season. First season in F2, leading the championship,” the Brit told, among others, GPblog.

On the other hand, Permane sees Lawson and Lindblad performing at their best, so at least one of Racing Bulls’ options will miss out on an F1 seat. Reportedly, it’s a serious option to send Tsolov to Japan for a year, where he can gain further experience in Super Formula. Red Bull previously did this with Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly. Tsolov could also serve as the reserve driver for the second Red Bull team.

If Red Bull chooses this path for Tsolov, the Austrians would, in effect, buy themselves extra time. For 2028, they can reassess what the best options are, while Tsolov will have spent a year competing in serious races. Logging miles is precisely what is crucial for the Bulgarian at this stage of his career.