Lawson left waiting as Red Bull keeps 2026 F1 plans under wraps

The New Zealander started this season as Max Verstappen’s team-mate before being dumped to Red Bull’s B-team, Racing Bulls, while Yuki Tsunoda was promoted in his place.

The Japanese driver has also struggled at Red Bull, while Lawson has found his feet in Racing Bulls, but albeit had a disappointing race last out in Singapore, where he finished in 15th place.

Red Bull’s F1 advisor Helmut Marko has hinted that the team could make a decision next week on who partners Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026.

However, Lawson says he has been told nothing. He said: “The sport moves very fast. As much as you have good race weekends, I think people in Formula 1 have very short memories. “It's about trying to keep that consistency across the board, and I think they're important, but so is every weekend, honestly, in Formula 1.”

When asked by GPblog as to how confident he was about securing his place on the grid for 2026, the 23-year-old said: “It's something where I don't make the decision on, so I'll find out more when a decision is being closer to being made. But right now I think the task is very simple for all of us to perform. So that's just what I'm focused on doing.

And when asked further by GPblog about whether he has been given a clear timeline, Lawson said he had not been given a timeframe.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s US GP in Austin, Lawson said he was relishing racing at COTA, which will also host one of the remaining sprint races.

He added: “I'm excited to be here, and it’s a track I very much enjoy driving. The first few laps of practice and going into qualifying, you know, especially when you're in a position where the car's hooked up and you feel good. “That's obviously what we're trying to achieve this weekend. And if we can do that, then I'm sure I'll enjoy it.”

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