News Summary
- Liam Lawson sits ninth in the 2026 F1 championship with 59 points after scoring in 10 of 14 rounds.
- The New Zealander earned 45 points for Racing Bulls and another 14 during three races with Red Bull.
- Lawson leads Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad by 28 points, but his 2027 seat remains unconfirmed.
Liam Lawson’s latest Red Bull opportunity has ended without delivering the promotion many New Zealand supporters would have wanted. Isack Hadjar is fit to return at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, sending Lawson back to Racing Bulls after three races alongside Max Verstappen.
That move does not represent a rejection. Hadjar was always expected to reclaim the RB22 once recovered from his wrist injury. The more important question is whether Lawson has accumulated enough evidence to secure his place somewhere within Red Bull’s Formula 1 structure for 2027.
The numbers suggest he has.
Lawson is ninth in the Drivers’ Championship with 59 points, making him the highest-placed competitor outside Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull’s permanent line-up. He is 18 points ahead of Pierre Gasly and holds a 28-point advantage over regular Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad.
Of those 59 points, 45 were scored for Racing Bulls before Lawson temporarily moved to Red Bull. He then added 14 across three appearances in the RB22, finishing seventh at Zandvoort, 14th at Monza and sixth in Madrid.
Lawson’s 2026 season by the numbers
| Category | Lawson’s record |
|---|---|
| Championship position | 9th |
| Total points | 59 |
| Points for Racing Bulls | 45 |
| Points for Red Bull | 14 |
| Points-scoring rounds | 10 from 14 |
| Best result | 5th |
| Lead over Lindblad | 28 points |
| Deficit to Hadjar | 12 points |
| Career F1 points | 103 |
Lawson has collected approximately 57% of his 103 career Formula 1 points during the 2026 season alone. That is significant because this is also the first campaign in which he has been given a stable programme from the opening round.
His results have not depended on one chaotic afternoon. Lawson scored in China, Japan, Canada, Monaco, Barcelona, Austria, Britain and Hungary before moving to Red Bull. His only retirement came in Miami.
That consistency matters more than the headline results. Racing Bulls occupies the crowded midfield, where small changes in qualifying position frequently decide whether a driver scores 6 points or leaves with nothing. Lawson has repeatedly converted opportunities without needing the car to be comfortably faster than its rivals.
Red Bull return repaired the damage from 2025
Lawson’s three-race Red Bull spell carried weight beyond the 14 points he scored.
He was demoted after only two rounds with the senior team in 2025. The decision left doubts over whether he could adapt to a car developed around Verstappen’s preferences or perform under the scrutiny attached to Formula 1’s most unforgiving seat.
The 2026 return provided a more representative test. Lawson finished seventh on his first weekend back at Zandvoort, struggled at Monza and recovered with sixth in Madrid. Two points finishes from three starts did not establish him as Verstappen’s future teammate, but they removed the argument that his first Red Bull experience defined his ability.
Lawson also had to move between two fundamentally different cars. He previously explained that returning to Racing Bulls would be difficult because the RB22 and VCARB 03 require different driving approaches. His results arrived while adapting to the Red Bull without a conventional pre-season programme.
As Lawson acknowledged before the Italian GP, his second experience with the car came with a much clearer understanding of what it required.
Why Lawson is not guaranteed a seat
Red Bull’s driver decisions have never been based entirely on championship points.
Lindblad remains an important long-term prospect despite trailing Lawson 59–31. Formula 2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov is also approaching eligibility for promotion, while Yuki Tsunoda remains available after returning to the grid during Lawson’s temporary move.
Hadjar has 71 points and produced 7 consecutive top-six finishes before his injury. His return alongside Verstappen is therefore logical and does not reduce the value of Lawson’s performances.
The uncertainty surrounds Racing Bulls. The organisation must decide whether retaining Lawson’s experience offers more value than creating another opening for a junior driver. Lawson is 24 and already has 49 Grand Prix starts, placing him in an unusual position for a team traditionally used to evaluate newcomers.
That experience could become more valuable during the second season of Formula 1’s current technical regulations. A stable driver capable of scoring consistently would give Racing Bulls a reference while Red Bull evaluates its younger prospects.
Lawson has met the performance requirement
A definitive Red Bull promotion would be difficult to justify while Hadjar continues producing stronger results. A complete departure from the organisation would be harder to explain.
Lawson has scored in 71% of the rounds contested this season. He has almost twice Lindblad’s total and sits only 12 points behind Hadjar despite spending most of the year in the junior team.
His Red Bull return also answered the question left by 2025: given time to understand the car, Lawson can contribute points rather than simply survive the weekend.
The final decision belongs to Red Bull, and its junior programme creates pressures that statistics alone cannot resolve. But if the criterion is whether Lawson has produced enough on track to justify remaining on the Formula 1 grid, the 2026 evidence already points towards yes.
Lawson returns to Racing Bulls for the Azerbaijan GP alongside Lindblad. Practice begins on Thursday, qualifying takes place on Friday and the race starts at 12:00 UK on Saturday, September 26.
F1 today: FAQ
When is the next Formula 1 race?
The next race is the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit on Saturday, 26 September.
Why is the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix being held on Saturday?
The race was moved forward to avoid Azerbaijan’s national Remembrance Day on Sunday, 27 September. Practice begins on Thursday, with qualifying on Friday and the Grand Prix on Saturday.
Who leads the 2026 Formula 1 championship?
Kimi Antonelli leads the Drivers’ Championship with 292 points. Mercedes teammate George Russell is second on 211, leaving Antonelli 81 points ahead with nine rounds remaining.
Will Liam Lawson race in Formula 1 in 2027?
Lawson does not yet have a confirmed 2027 seat. His performances have strengthened his case to remain with Racing Bulls, but Red Bull still has several junior drivers under consideration.
