Liam Lawson confirmed, but he can't afford to relax

Analysis - Liam Lawson can enjoy this week knowing that he has a future in Formula 1, but he can't afford to relax if he's to make that future a long term one.He has had his seat in Racing Bulls confirmed for 2027, but the 24-year-old will be under even more pressure next season.Lawson and Britain's Arvid Lindblad confirmation in the two VCARB seats ended months of speculation about the Kiwis' future.Lawson's participation in F1 was threatened by F2 driver Nikola Tsolov. The 19-year-old Bulgarian is a Red Bull junior driver and an obvious choice to race in the top league, but as it turns out not just yet. He will become the Red Bull and Racing Bulls' reserve driver next season.Lawson rebounded from his dumping from Red Bull after just two races of the 2025 season by becoming the 'best of the rest' driver in 2026.He is ninth in the drivers' championship with 89 points, just behind the Red Bull number two driver Isack Hadjar.He has scored points in 15 of the 20 rounds this year and last weekend qualified third for the Brazil Grand Prix, running in second place early in the race.He has scored more than double the points of his team mate Lindblad and has Racing Bulls comfortably in fifth place in the constructors' championship. It was those sort of numbers that Racing Bulls couldn't ignore.Tsolov has been a long term prospect and was probably set to take a place on the F1 grid in 2027 but Lawson's driving this year obviously changed his bosses' minds.Lawson is an aggressive driver and the lack of a contract appeared to spur him onto an impressive season. He comfortably absorbed the pressure he was under, reaching Q3 12 times which then resulted in points. That is the attitude that will serve him well in the future as he's going to have to at least match it next season."We've had a brilliant season together and the team has worked very hard to produce a fast car, which I've loved driving," Lawson said."It feels great to be part of a historic season for the team as we continue our fight for P5 in the Constructors' Championship... I'm looking forward to carrying this moment forward with Arvid through to 2027; we're building something super positive and I'm excited by what we can achieve together."Liam Lawson and Arvid LindbladPHOTOSPORTRacing Bulls will now see Lawson as the benchmark for the team.Rookie Lindblad needs to at least match him in 2027 otherwise his future will be in doubt. While Lawson can't afford to slip behind his team mate otherwise his stocks will fall and other teams will lose interest in him quickly.Both drivers will see Tsolov waiting in the wings and ready to jump into their seat if either of them fail to perform.There is little doubt that 2027 will be Lawson's last with Racing Bulls, after that he'll have to look for another team to continue his career, but fortunately a number of seats are due to open up for 2028.Liam Lawson debuted in F1 in 2023, filling in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo in five races and scoring his first points in Singapore. In 2024 he replaced Ricciardo permanently, racing the last six rounds.He was promoted to the Red Bull team for the 2025 season, but lasted just two rounds before returning to Racing Bulls.There are three rounds remaining in the 2026 season, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.