Praise without a contract announcement
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says Racing Bulls must make its own decision on Liam Lawson’s place in its 2027 line-up. Speaking after the Brazilian Grand Prix, he repeatedly distinguished offering an opinion from making the call.
Lawson finished seventh in Brazil and reached 89 points in the official drivers’ standings. Mekies congratulated him on another strong weekend and said he had shown a further step forward since returning to Racing Bulls.
Asked whether Red Bull could justify the sister team dropping a driver performing at that level, Mekies said those questions should go to Racing Bulls once it had made its decision. “The Racing Bulls driver decision is down to Racing Bulls,” he said.
A shared development programme, separate F1 choices
Mekies acknowledged that the teams run a common junior programme, with successful Racing Bulls drivers able to earn promotion to Red Bull Racing. He cited Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, while stressing that the drivers’ F1 development within Racing Bulls remained the responsibility of that team.
His praise for Lawson therefore did not amount to a confirmation of a 2027 seat. Mekies said he did not have to make the decision and would not air a personal view publicly in a way that turned it into a Red Bull Racing call.
He also backed Racing Bulls principal Alan Permane and the team’s experience, saying they had the data needed to choose. From Red Bull’s perspective, he saw no reason to rush them.
