Ever since Red Bull took over what is now Racing Bulls a few decades ago, they have used their sister team as a way to develop juniors with the ultimate goal of promotion to the main team. Through that model, they have developed great drivers such as Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, and Max Verstappen.
While some of their best have gone on to win several world championships, their junior team has seen cutthroat levels of competition over the years. Drivers such as Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and Carlos Sainz Jr. were all a part of the Red Bull family at one point, but were axed rather quickly.
At the moment, the battle for the second seat at Racing Bulls alongside Arvid Lindblad is seeing some fierce competition between Liam Lawson and Nikola Tsolov. The former is comfortably P9 in the drivers’ championship, while the latter is battling for the F2 championship.
The answer is easier than F1 fans think
Red Bull constantly have an abundance of talent coming through the junior ranks, and Tsolov is no different. However, Lawson’s performance in only his second full-time season in Formula 1 has been too impressive to ignore.
In 20 races this season, the Kiwi driver has finished in the points 15 times, with 10 of those results being top seven finishes. With a P9 finish in the standings highly likely to be headed his way, Lawson has quite literally been the best driver in the midfield this season.
Under normal circumstances, the 2027 seat would go to Tsolov in an effort to continue the cycle of promoting junior drivers. However, Lawson has done far too well to be dropped. In a way, it may help Tsolov to get a full season in a reserve role first before a promotion to F1, with multiple FP1 sessions and additional time in the simulator.
Nevertheless, Lawson has absolutely done enough to warrant a full-time drive in 2027 as he looks to enter his fifth F1 season overall and third competing full-time.
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