Follow us on Google Discover Liam Lawson is one of the drivers still waiting to decide whether he will be on the Formula 1 grid in 2026.
Racing Bulls are currently the only team yet to confirm either of their drivers for next season.
Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar are currently being tasked with helping Racing Bulls achieve the highest position possible in the constructors’ championship.
However, both drivers also know that they’re fighting for their Formula 1 future with contracts set to expire at the end of the campaign.
TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacValtteri BottasSergio PerezFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesGeorge RussellKimi AntonelliRacing BullsN/AN/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers
Hadjar is being hotly tipped for a Red Bull promotion, a position Lawson is very unlikely to return to after his disappointing two-race stint at the start of the campaign.
However, the New Zealander’s form has picked up recently, achieving the best result of his career at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Jenson Button and Martin Brundle were speaking about Lawson’s future ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
They’ve told Racing Bulls what they would ‘love’ to see the team do for 2026 and beyond.
READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty ImagesJenson Button would ‘love’ Racing Bulls to give Liam Lawson a two-year contract
Brundle was asked about Lawson’s future on Sky Sports F1 (19/10 7:05 pm) and said: “I think he’s putting in some good performances. Obviously, Isack Hadjar, alongside him, is extremely strong, and we expect him to move upstairs to the main Red Bull team, don’t we?
“So, let’s see what happens for Liam, but it’s tough in the midfield. There’s so much peril there, and it’s so close.
“But I think he’s done a good enough job to be considered for next year, but there are so many elements involved in signing a driver.
“Teams play the long game. There are other pieces of the jigsaw puzzle we won’t know about; there might be some commercial realities as well that go with that. So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
CategoryIsack HadjarLiam Lawson2025 points3930Grand Prix results115Grand Prix qualifying124Grand Prix wins00Grand Prix poles00Grand Prix podiums10Best finish3rd6thRetirements13Fastest laps00Grand Prix points finishes85Sprint results11Sprint Qualifying20Sprint wins00Sprint poles00Sprint podiums00The 2025 F1 teammate head-to-head battle of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson
Button replied: “Some drivers are very good under pressure. You put them in a car, they’re going to succeed immediately. Other drivers take more, they need more nurturing, and knowing that you have a two-year contract, for example, would give you so much more confidence in yourself and not pressurising yourself to perform and then overdriving.
“So, maybe he’s one of those drivers, and I would love to see him in this team for a couple of years, and we can really see what he can get out of it.
“We also have a massive shift next year in regulations. So having a driver they know that they can work with and develop that car is important also.”
READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation
Martin Brundle shares the advice he gave Liam Lawson after he was dropped by Red Bull
Yuki Tsunoda is likely to be Lawson’s biggest threat to staying at Racing Bulls next year, with Helmut Marko considering promoting Arvid Lindblad into one of the team’s two seats in 2026.
Tsunoda was furious with Lawson during qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas, believing he was deliberately trying to ruin his laps.
Lawson being dropped by Red Bull after two races was a brutal decision, and Tsunoda’s promotion hasn’t gone to plan either, with the Japanese driver sitting 16th in the drivers’ championship.
Tsunoda’s F1 future is in real danger, and Brundle has shared the advice he gave his direct rival earlier in the season.
He said: “That’s something I said to Liam, actually, a bit earlier in the year, is the great thing about this hero-zero business of ours, it’s a fashion business when it comes to drivers.
“The team bosses are scared silly of making the wrong decision on drivers, but if you’re only as good as your last race, that can cut both ways. Have a tremendous afternoon here, and suddenly, you’re king of the castle.”