Liam Lawson may be a pawn in Red Bull pressure move leaving his Racing Bulls F1 future in doubt

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Liam Lawson might be being used as a pawn in off-the-track moves to put pressure on Red Bull to promote F2 star Nikola Tsolov to F1 with junior team Racing Bulls for 2027.

Despite having enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 season at Racing Bulls after the first seven rounds, Lawson has surprisingly seen his seat on the F1 grid for 2027 already be thrown into doubt. It is not an unusual situation for the Kiwi, but it is unusual for this early in the season.

Lawson spent the majority of the 2025 season fighting for his place on the grid after he was demoted from Red Bull back to Racing Bulls after only two races. The 24-year-old ultimately rebuilt himself in Faenza and secured a seat for 2026, and is justifying that call with his form.

Ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, Lawson sits 10th in the F1 drivers’ standings with 28 of Racing Bulls’ 41 points so far in 2026. He is also directly behind Isack Hadjar in the standings on 34 points following the Frenchman’s promotion to Red Bull.

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Liam Lawson may be a pawn in efforts to put pressure on Red Bull to promote Nikola Tsolov

Nonetheless, a surprising report emerged earlier this week in the Spanish press that Lawson is at risk of being replaced by Tsolov at Racing Bulls next season. It is said that Red Bull have already assured Tsolov that he will move up from Formula 2 with their sister squad for 2027.

READ MORE: The best moments of Liam Lawson’s career in Formula 1

According to The New Zealand Herald, Racing Bulls immediately distanced the Faenza crew from the claim that Tsolov is set to join them in 2027. A Red Bull ‘insider’ even suggests that the report is merely a sign that the F1 driver market silly season is firmly underway already.

But the suggestion that Tsolov might possibly force Lawson out of Racing Bulls, which would also depend on Max Verstappen’s uncertain future with Red Bull, has tempted a theory that a power play is afoot to create enough pressure to help the Bulgarian move up to Formula 1.

While Tsolov is ‘very highly regarded’ within Red Bull, and will no doubt be pushing for an F1 seat after emerging as an F2 title contender as a rookie, there is a belief that Helmut Marko leaving Red Bull in 2025 has left the 19-year-old ‘in limbo’ without the man who signed him.

Thus, the reports of Tsolov securing a 2027 F1 seat already are seen as a play to ‘potentially light a fire at Red Bull’ or even entice a rival team to sign the teenager. It is also said that he retains a lot of support in the Spanish press from his time racing in Spain, along with having the extra draw of previously being signed to Fernando Alonso’s A14 management company.

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

What would Liam Lawson have achieved if he was given more time at Red Bull?

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Alonso’s A14 no longer represents Tsolov, who won the 2022 Spanish F4 title during his first year racing in single-seaters. The Bulgarian also came second in the 2025 FIA F3 standings amid his third year in the class, and currently ranks second in the 2026 FIA F2 championship.

Tsolov will have certainly impressed the Red Bull hierarchy with his immediate results in F2 this year, which will have also helped to fuel the suggestions that he may follow fellow Red Bull academy product Arvid Lindblad up to F1 with Racing Bulls after only one season in F2.

It only took Tsolov three races amid his late-season cameo in 2025 to get his first F2 podium with P3 in the Sprint Race in Abu Dhabi. Tsolov also took his first F2 race win in the Feature Race in Australia in March, and won the Sprint Race in Miami and Feature Race in Monaco.