Liam Lawson makes desperate plea as F1 future hangs in the balance

Liam Lawson has admitted that he's been left in a difficult contract situation, as Racing Bulls continue to prevaricate over his future.

The 24-year-old New Zealander still doesn't know if he has an F1 drive for next season, with his contract up at the end of 2026 and still no news from the organisation as to whether he'll be rewarded for his best season in the sport, or cast aside in favour of 19-year-old Nikola Tsolov.

The situation was brought back into focus last weekend in Mexico City when he clashed with the senior Red Bull of Max Verstappen in FP2, the Dutchman opining after the session: "When you're fighting for your seat, it's not very smart behaviour."

Lawson admitted this week in Sao Paulo that he doesn't know 'what else they want me to do' to force the team's hand in their contract standoff, with just three races left in the season after this Sunday and the Kiwi sitting on more than double his team-mate Arvid Lindblad's points tally.

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Lawson: I don't know what Racing Bulls want

Asked ahead of the weekend whether his recent results should ensure his seat for 2027, he admitted: “I don’t know. I mean, every weekend I’ve been trying to obviously do my best.

“But we’ve had a really strong year and we’re in a good position. We’re fighting Alpine. We’re pulling away from Alpine every weekend, and with a few races left, we’re trying to stay on top of them.

“I don’t know what else they want me to do, but yeah, it’s just one of those things at the moment.”

Lawson also admitted that he has very little in the way of fall-back options now that the vast majority of the grid for next season is set, saying: “I mean, it’s tough, isn’t it? It’s the end of the season.

"When something like this is pushed all the way to the end, you’re left with not really any options, so it’s not the easiest situation. Obviously, I want to be racing in F1, and I’m trying to show my best every weekend. I feel like we’ve had a good year.”

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