Liam Lawson makes 'honest' declaration as Red Bull seat decision looms

Liam Lawson has made an "honest" assessment of his Racing Bulls tenure as Red Bull's 2026 driver decision looms.

The New Zealander is one of three drivers vying for one of two seats at the team next season, with current team-mate Isack Hadjar set for promotion to partner Max Verstappen at the senior team.

That means Lawson, current Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda, and F2 protege Arvid Lindblad are fighting for the seat, with Lindblad expected to become the latest Red Bull-backed rookie.

Lawson started the season at Red Bull, but was demoted after just two races to Racing Bulls, where he has performed well, scoring 36 points, including a career-best fifth in Azerbaijan, where he was also third on the grid.

With the decision expected imminently, Lawson insisted he had no regrets about his 21 race weekends with Racing Bulls in the season.

"Honestly, at this point, with the race tomorrow, it is not really what we're thinking about too much," Lawson explained when asked by RacingNews365 for his take on the imminent Red Bull decision.

"I've been in this situation plenty of times now to know what it feels like. I guess the decision will come after the weekend, but for now, we have a race tomorrow.

"We will all back ourselves, and in the good moments this year, we've been very, very strong, but there are always things in hindsight you look back on and things you can do better.

"So there are races I would have done things differently, but honestly, overall, I'm pretty happy."

As for the performance in qualifying in Qatar, Lawson explained how he felt his team "got there" after suffering from balance issues throughout the weekend. 

"I think we got there today for sure," he said.

"We make small flap adjustments to try and help with the track getting better, and maybe we went a step too far, but it is such a small thing and sensitive, and it's cost us this weekend."