'More relief than anything' – Lawson reveals emotions on keeping Racing Bulls seat for 2026

Liam Lawson admits that securing his seat on the 2026 Formula 1 grid is "probably more relief than anything right now" ahead of the final race of the season in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old Kiwi will again compete with Racing Bulls next season, where he will be joined by F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad, with Isack Hadjar taking Yuki Tsunoda's spot at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.

"It's probably more relief than anything right now. It's also nice going into this weekend knowing, I can't really remember the last time I had that," said Lawson on media day ahead of the final race of the season.

"I'll try and enjoy the weekend a little bit but I think it's very positive and exciting to go into next year and spend the off-season with a proper plan."

Lawson confirmed he found out his future "just after the race in Qatar", with Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane the one to break the good news to his driver.

Lawson has endured a mixed 2025 campaign, one which began with two races in the senior Red Bull squad before being demoted back to Racing Bulls after struggling for performance.

Over the 21 Grands Prix since, Lawson has finished in the points seven times with a best result of P5 in Baku, all of which has helped Racing Bulls to sixth in the Constructors' Championship.

When asked if he thought his Red Bull demotion happened for a good reason, with Tsunoda now left without a race seat in 2026, Lawson replied: "I definitely think about that phrase a lot and I always try and tell myself that sometimes, in normally the bad moments.

"I think at the start of the year obviously I was having a lot of those thoughts with what was going on but at the same time it's hard to say that now because I think to be in this sport we all believe in ourselves. You couldn't be here if you thought that somebody was better than you.

"I would have liked to have thought that with the right amount of time I would have got my head around it, honestly. I don't even remember them [two races with Red Bull] they were so short.

"I do think there are a lot of things that happened this year that have made me a lot stronger and I've learnt a lot from."