Red Bull F1 chief insists he's not to blame for Liam Lawson contract decision

Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal Laurent Mekies has insisted that he is not to blame for the holdup over Liam Lawson's F1 future, pointing the finger elsewhere.

With just three grands prix remaining in 2026, Lawson's future in the sport remains uncertain, with Racing Bulls yet to confirm either him or team-mate Arvid Lindblad for 2027.

The consensus, however, is that if the Racing Bulls driver lineup is changed, it will be Lawson who makes way and not his team-mate, with Red Bull protege and F2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov pushing for his F1 chance.

Given Lawson's performances this season, it would be an objectively harsh decision. The Kiwi sits ninth in the drivers' standings on 89 points following another strong performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he secured P7 and qualified P5 (started P3 due to penalties) in tricky conditions.

That makes him the highest-ranked driver outside of the top four teams, and that's by some distance given he is 47 points clear of Pierre Gasly in P10 and 49 clear of team-mate Lindblad in P11. In fact, Lawson is closer to Red Bull's Isack Hadjar (-33) in P8 than anyone is to catching him.

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Red Bull chief insists Liam Lawson decision not his

Given that Racing Bulls are Red Bull's junior team, historically, Red Bull are the ones calling the shots when it comes to Racing Bulls' driver lineup, with the senior team at the heart of every decision.

However, Red Bull chief Mekies has insisted that it is not up to him if Lawson keeps his seat.

“The Racing Bulls driver decision is down to Racing Bulls," Mekies told the media, via Motorsport.com.

"And as much as, yes, we run a common junior programme, we are in the unique position where, when the good guys are coming out from Racing Bulls, we obviously have the possibility to get them to be promoted to Red Bull Racing, as we have done with Max [Verstappen] and as we have done with Isack [Hadjar]. But how we get to that point is down to them in terms of the F1 stint."

Mekies continued, congratulating Lawson on his strong weekend in Brazil, but his comments do make the holdup all the more confusing.

“When it comes to Liam, I can only congratulate him for another very strong weekend," Mekies added. "He has been on a fantastic run at first; he has done a very good job with us in the three races where he had to jump in, in an incredible contrast compared to his experience here a year ago, at the beginning of the year.

"And certainly, from that point, we all see that when you return back to Racing Bulls, he has shown on track another step again. And what he showed this weekend is the perfect representation of how strongly he is now performing.”

F1 insider contradicts Mekies claim

Interestingly, while Mekies has insisted the decision is down to Racing Bulls, an F1 insider has reported differently.

According to BBC Sport's Andrew Benson, the decision on Lawson's future and who will be driving for Racing Bulls is not down to their team principal Alan Permane.

Instead, Benson says it is in the hands of Red Bull shareholders Chalerm Yoovidhya and Mark Mateschitz, and Red Bull GmbH CEO Oliver Mintzlaff.

There is no confirmation as to when a decision will come either, though there have been reports that an announcement could be made before the Las Vegas Grand Prix later this month.

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