Lawson’s Racing Bulls future uncertain as Tsolov contends for seat

Liam Lawson has yet to secure his Racing Bulls future, with Formula 2 driver Nikola Tsolov a contender for his seat, PlanetF1 reports. The uncertainty comes despite Lawson’s strong run of results in 2026.

Lawson is ninth in the standings with 83 points and has scored 24 across the last four grands prix, more than Isack Hadjar and George Russell over that period.

He recovered from the pits to finish seventh in Mexico the previous weekend. Lawson described the weekend as particularly difficult and said he had probably not fully recovered from its events despite the strong race.

Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer said: “That decision rests with Alan, and he will make it, or rather, announce it when he feels the time is right.” Bayer said he had briefly discussed the decision with Permane on Saturday and expressed confidence in his choice.

“It takes away from some of that emotion when the rest at the moment is obviously so sort of undecided about my future,” Racing Bulls driver Lawson said. He is trying to maintain his current mindset and score as many points as possible before the season ends.

Asked whether Lawson had done enough to keep his seat, Bayer described that as the general paddock consensus. “At the same time, our role, as the leading developer of talent in Formula 1, is to continuously bring new drivers through,” he said.

Tsolov replaced Lawson for his FP1 debut at the Mexican Grand Prix, finishing a tenth of a second short of Arvid Lindblad’s best time. Bayer praised Tsolov’s performance and integration into the team, saying his showing was relevant to the driver decision.

The 19-year-old Bulgarian trails Formula 2 championship leader Rafael Camara by seven points. Motorsport.com reports that Tsolov emerged as a frontrunner for the Racing Bulls seat after winning six of the first 14 races, but has not won any of the last 11 contests.

Lawson is approaching the end of his second complete Formula 1 season. He started 2025 at Red Bull before being demoted to Racing Bulls, and returned to the senior team for three grand prix weekends in 2026 as a stand-in for Hadjar.