Racing Bulls commits to Lawson and Lindblad as 2027 F1 line-up

Racing Bulls confirmed Thursday that Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad will return for the 2027 Formula 1 season, ending weeks of speculation that Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov would take Lawson's seat. The decision caps a remarkable turnaround for Lawson, who was demoted from Red Bull after just two races in 2025 and entered this year with his future uncertain. Instead, the 24-year-old New Zealander has delivered the strongest season of his career, scoring 89 points across 20 Grands Prix — including three sprint events — and sitting ninth in the drivers' championship as the clear best of the midfield. His tally is more than double Lindblad's 38 points and has been the primary engine behind Racing Bulls' climb to fifth in the constructors' standings, 45 points clear of Alpine. If the team holds that position over the final three rounds in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, it will mark the Faenza squad's highest ever finish in its 20-year history.

The retention was far from guaranteed. Tsolov, 19, leads the Formula 2 championship with six victories and impressed during a rookie FP1 outing for Racing Bulls in Mexico City, handing Red Bull leadership a credible succession candidate. Sources indicated that senior figures within the Red Bull organization pushed hard for the Bulgarian's promotion, viewing Racing Bulls through its traditional lens as an incubator for future Red Bull Racing talent. Team principal Alan Permane, recently extended through 2031, has publicly stated he wants the team to serve exactly that developmental function. Yet Lawson's form over the Americas triple-header — ninth in Austin followed by back-to-back seventh places in Mexico and Brazil — shifted the internal calculus. His race craft has visibly tightened, mistakes have been eliminated, and he has absorbed the pressure of a looming replacement without a dip in performance.

Lindblad's rookie campaign provided the other half of the rationale. The 19-year-old Briton scored points on debut in Australia and strung together 10 points finishes in an 11-race stretch mid-season, showcasing precocious maturity, strong technical feedback and composure under pressure. A pointless run over the last four rounds, including a drive from 18th to 11th in Brazil, did not erode the team's conviction; Permane said the organization had been convinced for some time that Lindblad deserved a second year. The pairing now offers a rare blend: a midfield benchmark in Lawson entering his third full season, and a high-upside sophomore in Lindblad who already understands the car and the operation.

The announcement notably omitted any mention of Tsolov's 2027 program. The Bulgarian remains in F2 title contention and has been linked with a Super Formula seat in Japan, while a reserve or expanded testing role with Red Bull appears likely. For Racing Bulls, the choice reflects a pragmatic pivot: immediate constructors' championship revenue and historical achievement weighed heavier than the developmental orthodoxy that has defined the Red Bull junior pipeline for two decades. Whether that balance holds if Tsolov clinches the F2 crown remains the story's open question.