Racing Bulls Keep Lawson and Lindblad for 2027 as Tsolov Takes Reserve Role

Liam Lawson spent the season driving for his future, and on Thursday the team gave it to him. Racing Bulls have confirmed that Lawson and Arvid Lindblad will stay for the 2027 Formula 1 season, ending months of speculation that Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov would take Lawson’s seat. Tsolov will instead be reserve driver for both Red Bull-owned teams. The decision came a week before the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and it came because Lawson made himself impossible to drop.

What did Racing Bulls confirm?

An unchanged line-up, and a settled argument. Racing Bulls confirmed on Thursday that Lawson and Lindblad will field the same pairing for 2027, with both drivers extending their contracts, Formula 1 reports. Team principal Alan Permane said: “We’re delighted to be continuing with Liam and Arvid for 2027. Both have demonstrated their ability and potential throughout the season, and we’ve seen the progress they’ve made, both individually and as a pairing. I have no doubt that this is the best driver line-up for us, bringing a strong combination of experience and ambition.” Lawson said he was very happy to be continuing with the team, calling it a brilliant season and saying they were building something super positive. Lindblad thanked the team for its trust and said he could not wait to get started on his second year. Leclerc’s penalty in Sao Paulo is what handed Lawson seventh in that race, and the confirmation makes that result the one that closed the case.

What happens to Nikola Tsolov?

He waits, with a reserve role and a full programme. Tsolov, the 19-year-old Bulgarian who is fighting for the Formula 2 title, had been the reason Lawson’s seat was in doubt at all. He impressed on his practice debut in Mexico City, appearing to convince key figures that he was ready for Formula 1, and Red Bull’s Austrian parent company was particularly excited by his promise. Instead of a race seat, he gets a reserve role for both Red Bull-owned teams, Sky Sports reports, with more practice sessions, private testing and simulator work. The Racing Bulls statement announcing Lawson and Lindblad made no reference to Tsolov’s plans, The Race reports, which is its own kind of message: the team announced its drivers and left the junior to be announced separately. A reserve year keeps him in the system without forcing the team to drop a driver who is scoring points.

How did Lawson win the seat back?

By being too good to ignore at exactly the right moment. Lawson is ninth in the Drivers’ Championship on 89 points, more than the season total for Racing Bulls’ midfield rivals Alpine, Formula 1 reports, and he is the highest point scorer outside the top four teams. He has taken four seventh-place finishes in five Grands Prix, and the Sao Paulo weekend was the finest of them: he qualified fifth in treacherous conditions, was promoted to third on the grid, ran second on the first lap after an error by pole-sitter Lando Norris, and finished seventh after battling Charles Leclerc on the final lap, a duel that ended with Leclerc penalised for causing a collision. He has scored points in 15 of 20 races. The Mexico weekend had already shown the same pattern, where he drove from the back of the grid to seventh, and the paddock consensus after Brazil was the question Sky Sports put plainly: how could Racing Bulls be considering dropping a driver delivering this well?

Why was the decision in doubt for so long?

Because the two organisations pulling at the decision wanted different things. Racing Bulls is Red Bull’s junior team, and part of its function is to prepare young drivers for the senior team, which is why a 19-year-old with Tsolov’s promise kept Lawson’s seat in doubt even as Lawson outperformed his rookie team-mate. Red Bull’s side was excited by Tsolov; Racing Bulls’ side, led by Permane, wanted to keep the driver who was delivering its best-ever constructors’ result. The clearest sign of the split came from Lawson himself, who said Permane had been extremely supportive but that it was a big organisation, and from Permane, who said the team was trying to apply a little bit of science to make the right decision. Lawson had also been dropped by Red Bull after just two races at the start of 2025, which counted against him, and his run-in with Max Verstappen in Mexico practice came at the worst possible moment, with Verstappen telling the media Lawson’s actions were not smart given he was fighting for his seat. An apology cleared the air before Brazil, and since then Lawson has not put a foot wrong.

What does it mean for the 2027 grid?

Almost everything is now settled. The announcement leaves two uncertainties, Formula 1 reports: Haas has yet to disclose a contract for Ollie Bearman, although both parties have said they want to continue, and at Cadillac, Valtteri Bottas is signed on a multi-year deal but an extension for Sergio Perez is still open. Racing Bulls, meanwhile, are on course for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, which would be their best-ever result dating back to their origins as Minardi. Lindblad has contributed 38 points to that goal, and Lawson’s 89 have done the heavy lifting. Lawson’s custom-guitar stage debut in Austin showed the lighter side of a driver who spent the year under pressure, and the confirmation turns that pressure into a second season.

What happens next?

Las Vegas, and the fight for fifth. The next race is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 20-22, where Lawson and Lindblad will try to lock in the constructors’ position their season has earned. The watch items are Tsolov’s own comment on the reserve role, the Haas decision on Bearman, and whether the confirmation frees Lawson to drive even better with the weight off. He said it himself after Brazil: he had been trying to enjoy driving the car because he did not know what else he was meant to do. Now he knows. He is staying.