Liam Lawson addresses possible Red Bull exit as Nikola Tsolov decision looms

Liam Lawson has explained his feelings towards a possible exit from the Red Bull family as the decision over Nikola Tsolov looms. 

Lawson is enjoying his best season in F1, and has scored points in 12 of the 17 races thus far, and three Sprints, taking a career-equalling best of fifth in Monaco and the Singapore Sprint, to help guide Racing Bulls to the cusp of finishing fifth in the constructors' standings - the first time the Faenza-squad would have done so in F1 under its various guises.

However, despite his strong performances, Lawson's seat is the one believed to be at risk if Red Bull ultimately decide to promote F2 title contender Tsolov into a race seat, with Arvid Lindblad set for a second season following his impressive rookie campaign. 

Should Lawson fall off the grid for 2027, there are no options for an immediate race return, but the driver market is more open for 2028, with the New Zealander addressing the possibility of what would happen if he kept his seat for '27, and then departed for pastures new for the '28 season. 

"I don't know if I have to do anything, but I think, for me personally, I mean, for all of us as drivers, our goal is to win," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365, when asked if leaving the Red Bull programme at the end of 2027 made sense, if he retained his seat.

"So for me, my focus is to put myself in a position where I can be winning for one, and if I can go to a team that gives me a better chance to do that, that's obviously what we're what we get to do. 

"So the Red Bull specifics of it, I think they've shown many times in the past that sometimes that's not entirely why they make decisions, so it is something that I don't know what's going to happen next year, but for me, it's honestly not really what I'm thinking about now.

"I think that's something that has always been sort of talked about, and obviously you always try to cover your bases. But right now, not too much. It's not something that I would say I'm thinking about too much. 

"I've had a really good first half of the year. Honestly, had a good couple of races at Red Bull, and now we're going to some good tracks for the rest of the year, and we're obviously well in the fight for P5 [in the constructors'], so that's what I'm focused on."

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