Red Bull’s 2027 Seat Decision: Lawson vs. Tsolov
At Interlagos, with the noise of Friday practice still echoing off the grandstands, the future of Racing Bulls – and by extension Red Bull’s next generation – hung in the air without a firm answer.
The battle for the 2027 Racing Bulls seat has narrowed to two names: Liam Lawson and Nikola Tsolov. The choice sounds simple. It isn’t.
Behind the scenes, the politics of Red Bull’s junior structure are biting hard. Racing Bulls exist to feed the senior team, and that pipeline is shaping the call as much as lap times or race craft. Sources have told the Herald that Lawson’s standing with Red Bull is “effectively marked” after his short-lived promotion and demotion in 2025, despite a strong reputation and a sharp three-race stint earlier this year when he covered for the injured Isack Hadjar.
Tsolov, by contrast, carries momentum. He has been openly described by team principal Alan Permane as the next in line for promotion, off the back of a maiden Formula Two season that has left him just seven points off the championship lead. His trajectory fits the Red Bull template: young, fast, and rising at the right time.
Yet when Permane spoke between the two Friday practice sessions in Brazil, fresh from signing his own contract extension with Racing Bulls, he closed the shutters on any hint of a timeline.
“I’m not going to give you a date,” he said, before turning the spotlight on Red Bull’s famously ruthless junior programme. “Red Bull has a very successful young driver programme. I don’t want to be critical of it, but I think if [media] are critical of it, maybe sometimes drivers haven’t been able to have enough time to settle. Some snap decisions have been made.”
That line matters. For once, Racing Bulls are trying to slow the machine down.
“We’re trying to apply a little bit of science, and that takes some time. We’re looking at everything, and studying, analysing. Time is on our side. We’re not in a rush to do anything. I’m very confident the right decision will be made.
“I realise it’s frustrating for our drivers, I realise it’s frustrating for everyone else. But we want to get it right – we will get it right. I’m sure when we announce it in the coming weeks, everyone will be happy.”
The pressure, of course, is not theoretical. Lawson is driving as if every lap is an audition. In Mexico, he went from a pit-lane start to ninth on the road, later upgraded to seventh. It was the kind of drive that usually locks in a future, not one that leaves a driver sweating on phone calls and clauses.
Racing Bulls chief executive Peter Bayer has already pointed to Permane as the man who will ultimately make the call. That gives the Englishman unusual clout in a system often dictated from Milton Keynes and Salzburg.
Asked directly what the team wants from its 2027 line-up, Permane stripped it back to basics, then complicated it again.
“The main factors are, as always, pace and speed. That’s the first thing we look for,” he said. “But we’re not just a team that exists solely to compete. We’re here to bring young talent through, so we have to keep an eye on that.
“That doesn’t mean we necessarily keep churning young talent through the car. We maybe need to have some experience as well to measure that talent against. It’s not an easy decision.”
That last point cuts to the heart of it. Racing Bulls cannot simply be a conveyor belt. At some stage, someone has to stay long enough to be a reference point. Lawson, with his experience and proven ability to step into chaos and deliver, fits that profile. Tsolov, younger and still climbing, fits the traditional Red Bull mould.
No wonder emotions are fraying.
“I understand and get the frustration from everyone. I get the frustration from my drivers,” Permane admitted. “However, they’re both performing excellently. I don’t know if that frustration is helping, maybe they’ll be even better when those decisions are made.”
The uncertainty is not limited to Faenza’s garage. The Herald has previously reported that Lawson and Arvid Lindblad are expected to be retained, with an announcement originally indicated for before the end of October. That deadline has quietly slipped.
Lawson, speaking on Friday (NZ time), made it clear there is no safety net. He has no “Plan B” if Racing Bulls cut him loose. That stance appears to close the door on any immediate move to Cadillac, where Valtteri Bottas’ future is under review. American hopeful Colton Herta has now completed the requirements for an FIA super licence after running in Brazilian practice, giving Cadillac another option and tightening the market even further.
Against that backdrop, one scenario has been floated: confirm Tsolov for 2028, then let Lawson and Lindblad fight over the 2027 seat alongside him. When that possibility was put to Permane, he smiled and shut it down without actually shutting it down.
“All solutions are possible,” he said. “I’m not going to give you any clues on what we’re going to do. We’re almost there, but we’re not finalised. I’m not going to say one thing or another – nice try though.”
So the wait goes on. Two drivers performing, one junior ladder demanding fresh blood, one team insisting it will not rush a decision this time.
When the call finally comes in the next few weeks, it will say as much about what Red Bull want their future to look like as it will about Lawson or Tsolov themselves.
