Lawson's Singapore double strengthens his 2027 case as Racing Bulls decision nears
Liam Lawson scored in both races at Marina Bay. He was fifth in Saturday's sprint and seventh in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, which Max Verstappen won.
The 10 points took the 24-year-old to 75 for the season. He stays ninth in the drivers' standings, 22 behind Red Bull's Isack Hadjar and 34 clear of Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
The result comes at a useful time. Racing Bulls have not said where Lawson will race in 2027, and team boss Alan Permane has said a decision will be made, "if not announced", in the coming weeks, according to the NZ Herald.
Singapore was Lawson's third weekend of 2026 with points in both the sprint and the Grand Prix, after China and Silverstone. Fifth in the sprint equalled his career best, and Sunday's result was his 13th Grand Prix points finish this season.
His race was decided at Turn 1. Lawson started eighth, directly behind Gasly, on soft tyres while Gasly was on mediums. The extra grip got him past into seventh.
"Once we pulled the blankets off, and I saw he was on a medium, I knew it was game on in Turn 1," Lawson told Sky Sports F1, as quoted by Speedcafe.
He held the place to the flag.
His teammate had a worse afternoon. Arvid Lindblad started ninth, got away badly and finished 15th, outside the points. "The start was shocking," he said, according to Speedcafe.
Lawson's points took Racing Bulls to 100, already more than the 92 that earned sixth last year. With six rounds left they lead Alpine by 32 for fifth, and Lawson alone has outscored Alpine's whole team, 75 to 68.
"Ultimately I think it's just been a very good year overall," Lawson said, as quoted by Speedcafe. "Looking at this triple header, it's probably the strongest we've been this season. Personally for me as well."
Racing Bulls have three drivers for two seats. Permane said so himself, in comments reported by the Herald: "We're not in a rush... we've got two fantastic drivers, we've got a fantastic driver in F2 at the moment... three doesn't fit into two, of course."
The F2 driver is Nikola Tsolov. The 19-year-old is seven points off the Formula Two lead with two rounds left.
Tsolov's last two F2 rounds are in the Middle East at the end of November and the start of December. That is outside Permane's timeline, so Racing Bulls look set to decide before they know whether he is F2 champion.
The Herald says its sources have confirmed that a line-up announcement is imminent. Herald columnist Alex Powell, who also covers the sport for Newstalk ZB, wrote in an opinion piece that it is "looking increasingly clear that the Kiwi will get at least another year on the grid at Racing Bulls". He also wrote that the team could still make Lawson reserve driver and promote Tsolov.
Nothing has been announced. The next race is the United States Grand Prix in Austin in two weeks.