Liam Lawson believes he has uncovered the secret to ensuring he can stay on the F1 grid for the long-term as he awaits Red Bull's 2026 decision.
Lawson is one of five Red Bull drivers vying for four 2026 seats, although one of these is Max Verstappen, meaning in reality, one of Lawson, Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda, or F2 protege Arvid Lindblad will miss out.
Hadjar is widely expected to be promoted to partner Verstappen, and Lindblad given the nod to start his F1 career, meaning Lawson and Tsunoda are fighting for one Racing Bulls seat.
2025 is Lawson's first full season in F1, which initially started at Red Bull before demotion after two races, but his form at Racing Bulls has impressed.
The New Zealander has scored 36 points from six points finishes, including a career-best fifth in Azerbaijan, where he also qualified a career-high third.
Analysing his situation, Lawson felt the key to unlocking a long F1 career was just about surviving the first season.
"Your first year in F1 is the most important," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365.
"It is really the year where you improve, whether you stay in the sport, and I think more guys probably lose their drive after one or two seasons of Formula 1 rather than multiple seasons.
"Once you secure a seat for a few years, you are known to be a valuable driver.
"It is getting to that point, and especially in this team and the Red Bull environment, that is how it has always been, so [not knowing my future] is nothing new.
"Obviously, I'd love to have the comfort of being secure, but at the same time, I've only ever known this sort of pressure and environment, so it is what I know."
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