{"id":578318,"date":"2026-08-24T00:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T00:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/578318\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T00:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T00:54:12","slug":"formula-1-the-man-wholl-really-get-to-decide-liam-lawsons-formula-1-future-alex-powell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/578318\/","title":{"rendered":"Formula 1: The man who\u2019ll really get to decide Liam Lawson\u2019s Formula 1 future \u2013 Alex Powell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s what we learned at Zandvoort<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Red Bull redemption<\/p>\n

You can only imagine how difficult it is. To work your whole life, see your loved ones make sacrifice after sacrifice to get you to the top, and have it taken away before it can really begin.<\/p>\n

And while that\u2019s exactly what happened to Lawson at the start of last year<\/a>, this weekend at Zandvoort has gone a long way to rewriting what defines his time in a Red Bull car.<\/p>\n

This weekend wasn\u2019t about proving Red Bull wrong for their part in promoting and demoting Lawson so quickly. It was about proving himself right in that he has what it takes to drive for one of the sport\u2019s biggest outfits.<\/p>\n

Even if it\u2019s taken more than a year longer than he\u2019d have liked it to, Lawson\u2019s done just that. <\/p>\n

As former teammate Isack Hadjar \u2013 promoted to Red Bull ahead of the Kiwi at the end of last year \u2013 was ruled out with a wrist injury<\/a> suffered in the summer break, Lawson firmed as the only realistic option to take his place.<\/p>\n

\"LiamLiam Lawson at the Dutch Grand Prix. Photo \/ Red Bull<\/p>\n

With just one practice session on Friday, thanks to the sprint format, Lawson wasn\u2019t immediately on the money<\/a>, but made use of every available lap to get himself in the picture to qualify inside the top 10.<\/p>\n

For all the struggles of 2025, a 0.115s qualifying gap to Max Verstappen<\/a> \u2013 arguably the best driver in the sport\u2019s history \u2013 was all the proof that Lawson has completely left the worst part of his career behind.<\/p>\n

From the moment the lights went out at Zandvoort, Lawson mostly stayed out of trouble \u2013 even as Verstappen wiped out at turn 14 on the first lap. Barring a late penalty for a yellow flag infringement (that cost Lawson nothing), the Kiwi\u2019s efforts over the 72 laps were faultless.<\/p>\n

And, with Red Bull battling to finish third in the constructors championship, there\u2019s no telling exactly how valuable Lawson\u2019s points will end up being.<\/p>\n

Waiting on a wrist of fate<\/p>\n

To make things even better, Lawson could find himself back in a Red Bull in a couple of weeks, when Formula One heads to Italy as we approach the end of the European leg.<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, there has been no official prognosis on the extent of Hadjar\u2019s injury, including how long he\u2019ll need to completely heal.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not in dispute how the Frenchman picked up the injury, hurting his hand as part of a regular boxing session, there have been conflicting accounts of his recovery.<\/p>\n

Hadjar\u2019s own camp have insisted he\u2019ll be fine for Monza, while Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies wasn\u2019t as certain.<\/p>\n

\"IsackIsack Hadjar is racing to be fit for the Italian Grand Prix. Photo \/ Red Bull<\/p>\n

According to Sky Sports UK, Hadjar suffered a hairline fracture \u2013 a very small crack \u2013 in his wrist. Should that be the case, the recovery timeline of returning for the Italian Grand Prix would be optimistic at best.<\/p>\n

Worst-case scenario, Hadjar could be out of action for up to eight weeks, depending on if he needs surgery. <\/p>\n

While Hadjar\u2019s injury isn\u2019t as serious as the broken wrist that saw Daniel Ricciardo ruled out for five races in 2023, all deputised by Lawson, there is still a very real chance he might need to spend a bit more time on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

For his part, Lawson has now proven he\u2019s more than capable as a replacement, and will only improve with more time in the RB22, especially at a track like Monza. <\/p>\n

Now we wait. <\/p>\n

The finger on the trigger<\/p>\n

Despite Lawson\u2019s strong showing this year, even before the result at Zandvoort, there is still plenty of speculation as to where he\u2019ll fit into Red Bull\u2019s plans next year.<\/p>\n

The form of Red Bull-backed Nikola Tsolov in Formula Two is proving difficult to ignore, especially if he can convert his championship lead into a title in his rookie season.<\/p>\n

However, Red Bull and Racing Bulls have both made it clear they\u2019re under no pressure to finalise their driver line-ups.<\/p>\n

Over the summer break, when Lawson hinted the decision will be made, talk began to swirl that the Kiwi had lost his seat, with an announcement to come in September.<\/p>\n

As they\u2019ve done from the start, Racing Bulls confirmed to the Herald no decisions were made. Just who makes that decision, though, is starting to become a bit clearer.<\/p>\n

After free practice on Friday, Racing Bulls chief executive Peter Bayer indicated that team principal Alan Permane will have the final say. However, sources have confirmed to the Herald that the call will be made from even higher up.<\/p>\n

According to one source in particular, the decision will be made by Oliver Mintzlaff, the managing director of the entire Red Bull organisation.<\/p>\n

\"RedRed Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff speaks with former team principal Christian Horner. Photo \/ Red Bull<\/p>\n

With Red Bull needing to create value for its shareholders, the performances of its two Formula One teams are a solid source of income to achieve that.<\/p>\n

Because Lawson is playing such a key role in Racing Bulls\u2019 battle for fifth in the constructors championship, which earned more than $170 million in prizemoney last year, the financial rewards the Kiwi brings the organisation might just be too hard to walk away from, despite the raw promise of Tsolov.<\/p>\n

As things stand, the likeliest outcome of Racing Bulls\u2019 driver lineup will see Lawson and Arvid Lindblad stay put, with Tsolov to take over from Ayumu Iwasa as reserve driver.<\/p>\n

Just how things pan out over the coming months could change plenty, though.<\/p>\n

Verstappen\u2019s shock announcement<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been an underlying narrative for the better part of the past two years; does Max Verstappen have a future in the sport?<\/p>\n

As a four-time world champion, Verstappen had made plenty of noises about his dislike of the direction he feels Formula One is moving in.<\/p>\n

But, with no apparent avenue to leave Red Bull for another contender, Verstappen last week unexpectedly announced a new contract extension, taking him to the end of 2030, if not beyond that.<\/p>\n

That will almost certainly make him the driver with the most appearances for a single team, as he pushes towards the record seven championships won by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n

What does it mean for Lawson, then? In reality, very little. <\/p>\n

\"MaxMax Verstappen. Photo \/ Red Bull<\/p>\n

It was never a one-or-the-other situation between the two, with the entire Red Bull development train still geared towards finding Verstappen\u2019s ideal partner.<\/p>\n

If Lawson does truly want to return to Red Bull, he\u2019ll have to do it through displacing Hadjar \u2013 as was always the case.<\/p>\n

Another door shuts<\/p>\n

Elsewhere on the grid, one of Lawson\u2019s potential landing spots is now closed, until 2028 at the earliest.<\/p>\n

While Williams have struggled to continue the form that saw them finish fifth in the constructors championship last year, the English side have pulled off a bit of a coup in re-signing the pair of Alex Albon and, in particular, Carlos Sainz.<\/p>\n

With plenty of speculation that he\u2019d look to force an exit to join Audi next year, Sainz has re-signed on a multi-year contract, while Albon has extended for another season to the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

\"CarlosCarlos Sainz has re-signed with Williams on a multi-year contract. Photo \/ AAP \/Joel Carrett\/ Photosport<\/p>\n

There was no suggestion that Lawson was in talks with Williams over one of its two seats \u2013 even if team boss James Vowles attempted to sign the Kiwi on a short-term deal in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, with 14 seats officially confirmed for next year, and a couple more that are guaranteed to not change, Lawson could have a fight to remain on the grid if he does choose to leave Red Bull.<\/p>\n

Alex Powell<\/a> is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what we learned at Zandvoort. Red Bull redemption You can only imagine how difficult it is. To…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[53396,20306,9442,24571,29188,3273,1333,4507,138264,20409,5158,13631,111,139,69,25622,5970,9979,213,131,223,61,200229],"class_list":["post-578318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-53396","tag-alex","tag-better","tag-decide","tag-formula","tag-future","tag-get","tag-late","tag-lawsons","tag-liam","tag-man","tag-never","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-powell","tag-really","tag-right","tag-sports","tag-than","tag-the","tag-to","tag-wholl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}