Liam Lawson's F1 future has finally been secured for 2027 with the news earlier this week that Racing Bulls will be keeping him on for the new season.
Lawson's place had been called into question with the team evaluating F2 title contender Nikola Tsolov for promotion to grand prix racing, but the Bulgarian will become the third and reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls in 2027, with a future F1 seat likely.
The fact that Lawson's future had been allowed to drag on for so long had caused some consternation in the paddock, but the New Zealander will be on the grid to begin his third full season in 2027.
In a mighty 2026 thus far, Lawson has scored a total of 89 points, 51 more than rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad, including seventh places in four of the last five grands prix, in Bahrain, Singapore, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo.
This excellent consistency has moved Racing Bulls to the cusp of history, with the Faenza squad set to finish in fifth place in the constructors' championship for the first time - something it never did during its Toro Rosso or AlphaTauri guises.
Of his 89 points, Lawson has scored 75 of these for the team, with 14 coming during his three-race spell at Red Bull as Isack Hadjar's injury replacement - and if he were a team in its own right, Lawson would be ahead of Racing Bulls' nearest rivals, Alpine.
The two teams have been battling for fifth all season, but Alpine's recent going off the boil with just one point since the Spanish GP has coincided with Lawson's rich vein of form.
In total, Alpine has 69 points, meaning Lawson would be sixth in the constructors' standings ahead of the Enstone team in his own right, even if his 75 Racing Bulls points are solely counted.
Lawson's haul of 89 points and counting is the second most a Toro Rosso-AlphaTauri-Racing Bulls driver has ever scored, only behind Pierre Gasly's 110 in a stunning 2021 season.
Sebastian Vettel scored 35 points in the old money of the 2008 points system, which would account for 93 if translated to the modern system.
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Samuel Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil! Max Verstappen’s simply staggering recovery from 21st on the grid is a key talking point, as is Ferrari’s current power unit struggles.
Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!
Most read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!