'I don’t know what else they want me to do' – Lawson elaborates on uncertainty around his F1 future

Liam Lawson has admitted that he doesn’t “know what else they want me to do” as his future at Racing Bulls remains uncertain, with the New Zealander focused on “trying to show my best every weekend”.

Team Principal Alan Permane previously explained that they have three contenders for two seats in 2027 – namely Lawson, his current team mate Arvid Lindblad, and Red Bull Junior Nikola Tsolov.

While the latter completed his first FP1 outing at the Mexico City Grand Prix and finished P12, 0.126s adrift of Lindblad, Lawson believes that his own performances have amounted to a strong campaign for Racing Bulls.

Asked ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix whether his recent results – which include a trio of P7 finishes in Bahrain, Singapore and Mexico – should secure his seat, he replied: “I don’t know. I mean, every weekend I’ve been trying to obviously do my best.

“But we’ve had a really strong year and we’re in a good position. We’re fighting Alpine. We’re pulling away from Alpine every weekend, and with a few races left, we’re trying to stay on top of them.

“I don’t know what else they want me to do, but yeah, it’s just one of those things at the moment.”

The majority of teams have already announced their 2027 driver line-ups, so if Lawson were to be replaced at Racing Bulls, he would likely need to consider moving into a reserve role in order to remain in F1.

Probed further on whether he has a back-up plan, he said: “I mean, it’s tough, isn’t it? It’s the end of the season.

“When something like this is pushed all the way to the end, you’re left with not really any options, so it’s not the easiest situation. Obviously, I want to be racing in F1, and I’m trying to show my best every weekend. I feel like we’ve had a good year.”

Lawson has netted 83 points so far and sits ninth in the standings as the ‘best of the rest’ driver, with an advantage of 42 points over his nearest competitor – Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

His consistent top-10 finishes have also helped Racing Bulls grab a commanding hold on P5 in the Constructors’ Championship, which would represent their best-ever result as a team, even going all the way back to their roots as Minardi.

It’s therefore of little surprise that Lawson considers this season to be “a lot stronger” than his other stints in F1, especially after he charged from the pit lane to P7 last time out in Mexico City.

“This year, I haven’t really thought about [the uncertainty] so much, but also the racing has been a lot stronger this year,” he explained. “I think Mexico was more of a specific situation that obviously happened on Friday and made the whole weekend a bit tougher, but in terms of performance, I was in the same place I’ve been all year.

“I feel like the speed’s been good, and in Mexico it was very, very good. Obviously, we qualified very, very well. I just had the penalty and had to start from the pit lane. But I think outside of that, we were quick all weekend.

“The race pace was good. We were able to come through. I don’t see why we shouldn’t be quick here. I feel like it’s a track that I enjoy driving, and the car should work well. I think the bigger question is the weather over the weekend.”