Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane has said he understands the frustration caused by the ongoing delay in deciding whether to retain Liam Lawson or promote reserve driver and F2 frontrunner Nikola Tsolov for 2027.
Red Bull’s satellite team is preparing for what could become its most successful season in its history, with Lawson and rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad as it heads toward an unprecedented fifth place in the constructors’ standings.
With Lawson having found his best form to date and teenager Lindblad showing plenty of promise, the team would normally be expected to retain both drivers for 2027. But its role as a breeding ground for future Red Bull Racing drivers is changing that dynamic, as Lawson is no longer in the Milton Keynes team’s long-term picture. And in Bulgarian Tsolov, it has an exciting young talent in the ranks that could potentially vie with Lindblad for a future spot on the main team.
Racing Bulls is also expected by Red Bull’s parent company to be standing on its own feet and be competitive, as it has successfully demonstrated this season.
That agonizing decision between short-term performance, stability and experience in Lawson and future Red Bull upside in Tsolov is why a decision that had been expected to arrive earlier now looks set to drag on until at least Las Vegas.
Alan Permane, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Meanwhile, the Anglo-Italian team’s social media accounts have been flooded by fans demanding that Lawson be re-signed for 2027. A post on Arvid Lindblad’s channels on Thursday, in which he celebrated being reunited with childhood friend Tsolov in F1 as they took part in Mexico’s FP1 session, caused confusion as some fans took it as accidental confirmation of the team’s 2027 line-up.
The lack of clarity has also been weighing on Lawson, who admitted that he “doesn’t know what else they want me to do.”
Speaking in Brazil on Friday, team boss Alan Permane, who has inked a fresh deal until 2031 as Racing Bulls team principal and co-CEO, said he understood why the lack of decision was frustrating to the outside world. But he insisted the team is doing its due diligence to nail its choice.
“We’re trying to apply a little bit of science, and that takes some time,” Permane explained. “We are looking at everything and studying, analysing, and time is on our side. We’re not in a rush to do anything, and 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, and we will get it right. I’m sure when we announce it in the coming weeks, everyone will be happy. We’re almost there, but we’re not finalised.”
Nikola Tsolov
Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
A decision to retain Lawson does not have to go against the squad’s mantra of bringing up young talent, though. Aside from the large number of points Lawson has contributed, having the more experienced New Zealander in the other car has been a useful benchmarking tool for the team to judge Lindblad’s progress in his rookie campaign.
Explaining the team’s seemingly conflicting objectives, Permane said: “The main factors are, as always, pace and speed. That’s the very first thing we look for.
“But we’re not just a team that exists solely to compete. We are here to bring young talent through, so we have to keep an eye on that. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that we just keep churning young talent through the car. We need to maybe have some experience as well to measure that talent.
“So, it’s not an easy decision, and I understand and get the frustration from everyone. I get the frustration from my drivers. But we’re getting there, and it won’t be long.”