Helmut Marko disagrees with some at Red Bull about Liam Lawson’s potential Racing Bulls replacement

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Liam Lawson has started to revive his F1 career after Red Bull ruthlessly demoted the Kiwi back to Racing Bulls, but his future on the grid beyond 2025 is currently unclear.

The 23-year-old realised his childhood dream at the start of the 2025 season by replacing Sergio Perez to become a Red Bull driver. But his dream was over after just two rounds, with Lawson returning to Racing Bulls in a direct swap with Yuki Tsunoda for the rest of this term.

It took Lawson a bit of time to find his feet in Faenza once again, but the New Zealander has scored 20 points since opening his account for the term with P8 in the Monaco Grand Prix. He also took P6 in the Austrian GP, P8 in the Belgian GP and P8 in the Hungarian GP so far.

Yet Red Bull are still to give Lawson a contract to race for one of their two teams in the 2026 F1 season. The Hastings native is a free agent at the end of this term, and his options to stay on the grid are slim. The only other vacancies now remaining are with Mercedes and Alpine.

Helmut Marko disagrees with some at Red Bull about whether Arvid Lindblad is ready for F1

Lawson’s management wants Red Bull to decide their 2026 F1 line-ups quickly to ensure the Kiwi does not miss out on a potential move to Alpine. The Renault-owned team are likewise yet to give Franco Colapinto a contract for 2026, with the Argentine without a point in 2025.

READ MORE: All to know about Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad, including his parents

But a disagreement between Helmut Marko and others among the Red Bull hierarchy could be delaying a decision about Lawson’s future with Racing Bulls. That is according to reports by RacingNews365, which claim Marko is pushing Red Bull to promote Arvid Lindblad to F1.

Motorsport adviser Marko wants Lindblad to move up from Formula 2 and join Racing Bulls for the 2026 F1 season. But there are some at Red Bull who have developed ‘doubts’ about Lindblad being ready for F1, especially ahead of the introduction of the 2026 F1 regulations.

The 18-year-old has not had a flawless rookie F2 season in 2025, with the Briton seventh in the standings ahead of the Baku round. Lindblad has taken a Sprint Race win in Jeddah and a Feature Race win in Barcelona, but has only scored points three times in the last 10 races.

Additionally, Lindblad produced an error-strewn day during the Feature Race at Monza last time out. Red Bull junior Lindblad took McLaren junior Alex Dunne out of the Feature Race when he rear-ended the Irishman into the Ascari Chicane, before taking Roman Stanek out.

Arvid Lindblad could partner Yuki Tsunoda at Racing Bulls, with Liam Lawson left out

Campos should shoulder some of the responsibility for Lindblad taking Invicta Racing driver Stanek out of the F2 Feature Race at Monza, as the team elected against replacing his front wing after the Briton had locked up under braking and sent Dunne to the barriers at Ascari.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

RacingNews365 also notes that Lindblad is believed to have crashed during a recent Testing of Previous Car (TPC) session that Red Bull held at Monza. Yet Marko disagrees with some at Red Bull who doubt whether Lindblad is ready for F1, as he looks to field him at Racing Bulls.

Lindblad’s F1 debut would be at the expense of Lawson or Tsunoda, with Red Bull mulling a return to Racing Bulls for the 25-year-old. It is said that Tsunoda holds an edge over Lawson for a 2026 Racing Bulls seat, too, as Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies is sympathetic to his woe.

Alternatively, sources have told F1 Oversteer that Racing Bulls are considering Tsunoda and Lawson for their 2026 F1 driver line-up, with Lindblad potentially given another year in F2 to refine his trade before then debuting in 2027. It could be Lawson’s best chance to stay in F1.