Lawson impresses in Sao Paulo as Racing Bulls seat talk eases

Liam Lawson may have regained control of his Racing Bulls seat after a strong weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Despite being on arguably the best form of his career and clearly outperforming rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad, speculation had grown over the first two rounds of F1's Americas triple-header that Racing Bulls would replace the 24-year-old for 2027.

The reasoning behind that speculation is that Racing Bulls exists partly to prepare young drivers from Red Bull's academy for the senior team. Nikola Tsolov, 19, is highly rated and is awaiting an opportunity as he finishes an F2 championship battle. He impressed in his F1 practice debut in Mexico City, which appeared to convince key figures that he is ready for F1.

Lawson's position was made harder by a clash with Max Verstappen during practice in Mexico, which led to both drivers receiving a one-place grid penalty. Lawson arrived in Sao Paulo under considerable pressure.