Liam Lawson's Impressive Midfield Performance in Formula One

Liam Lawson keeps delivering. Formula One still isn’t listening.

Locked out of a Red Bull promotion by Max Verstappen’s dynastic deal and Isack Hadjar’s long-term backing, the New Zealander arrives at Interlagos this weekend as one of the season’s most effective midfield operators – and one of its most uncertain.

Racing Bulls don’t have to change a thing. With no room at the senior team and both current drivers under contract, they can simply roll this line-up over for at least another year. Lawson is doing a compelling job of making that the easiest option on the table.

He has carried the team’s charge towards fifth in the constructors’ standings, banking the majority of their points in a run that could deliver an estimated $180 million and the highest finish in the outfit’s history. For a junior team that has lived most of its life in the shadows, that is no small step.

And yet, when Lawson walked into the paddock at Interlagos and was asked about his future, he had nothing concrete to offer.

“Every weekend I’ve been trying to do my best,” he said. “We’ve had a really strong year, we’re in a strong position.

“We’re pulling away from Alpine every weekend, with a few races left we’re trying to stay on top of them. I don’t know what else they want me to do, but it’s just one of those things at the moment.

“It’s the end of the season, when something like this is pushed all the way to the end, you’re left with not many options. It’s not the easiest situation.

“I want to be racing in Formula One, and I’m trying to show my best every weekend.”

That last line cuts through the noise. The results back it up.

Lawson has been linked to a potential move to Cadillac as a replacement for Valtteri Bottas, but that talk remains fragile. The American operation has invested serious effort into helping Formula Two driver Colton Herta collect enough Super Licence points to be eligible should they decide to shake up their line-up. For now, Lawson is in the familiar position of being admired, discussed, but not yet chosen.

On track, though, his answers are emphatic. He already owns a tidy record in Brazil, with points finishes on both of his previous visits to Interlagos. He returns buoyed by what many regard as the finest drive of his career in Mexico.

Starting from the pit lane after a penalty, Lawson launched from 22nd and sliced his way through the field to take the chequered flag in ninth. Post-race penalties for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto bumped him up to seventh – a reward that matched the quality of his afternoon.

The reaction after the race told a different story. His subdued demeanour in media duties sparked whispers that he already knew bad news about his 2025 prospects. Lawson insists it was something far more immediate.

His weekend had been compromised by a collision with Verstappen in practice, a clash between Red Bull stablemates that earned both drivers grid penalties and forced Lawson into that pit-lane start.

“If I look a year ago, we were in a different position and I thought about it a lot more,” he said, reflecting on the constant speculation about his future.

“This year, I haven’t really thought about it so much, but the racing has been stronger.

“Mexico was [about] a specific situation that happened on Friday that made the whole weekend more tough.

“With the performance, I was in the same place I’d been all year.”

That “same place” is a high one. Over his last four races, Lawson has stacked up 24 points, a surge that has underpinned Racing Bulls’ late-season climb and widened the gap to Alpine.

Now comes a circuit that suits him, and weather that might suit him even more.

Rain has already hit Interlagos on the opening day, with forecasts pointing to more showers before lights out on Monday (NZ time). This track, in these conditions, has already showcased Lawson’s touch. In 2024, in only his eighth Formula One start, he qualified fifth in the wet here and converted that into ninth place in the race – another early marker of his composure when grip disappears and chaos reigns.

He sounds ready to lean on that again.

“I feel like the speed’s been good, in Mexico it was very good,” he said. “We qualified very, very well – we just had the penalty and had to start from pit lane.

“Outside that, we were quick all weekend, the race pace was good. I don’t see why we shouldn’t be quick here.

“It’s a track that I enjoy driving, the car should work well. The bigger question is the weather over the weekend.”

The bigger question for Lawson, though, sits beyond the clouds over São Paulo. He is delivering points, performances and poise. If that still isn’t enough to secure a seat, what more does Formula One really want from him?