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Here's the thing: Racing Bulls is the lone squad on the grid yet to lock in a single driver for the 2027 season, leaving both seats wide open and three distinct talents battling for them. Alan Permane insists that "the right decision will be made" once the outfit finally finalizes its line-up, with the team "trying to apply a little bit of science" before making any official announcement.
Time is on their side, or so Permane claims ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend. Speaking to the media on Friday, the Racing Bulls figure—who also announced a contract extension to stay with the team until 2031—acknowledged the outside pressure and admitted snap decisions may have been a pitfall in the past. "We're trying to apply a little bit of science and that takes some time. We are looking at everything and studying, analysing and time is on our side," Permane said.
Main factors are, as always, pace and speed. That's what comes into it. That's the very first thing we look for but we're not just a team that exists to just solely compete,
Three drivers are currently deadlocked in the internal contest for those precious seats. Liam Lawson leads the charge as the best of the rest in the drivers' standings behind the top teams, sitting in P9 after stepping in for Red Bull three times this year and scoring on a Sunday 14 times. Yet the Kiwi's future remains unconfirmed, prompting him to admit ahead of the action in Brazil: "I don’t know what else they want me to do."
Chasing him is Arvid Lindblad, currently P11 in the standings and 45 points behind Lawson. The rookie has turned heads in his debut Formula 1 season by securing 11 points finishes in Grands Prix. Alongside him in the frame is Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov, the Bulgarian charger who sits second in the F2 standings during his maiden season in the junior category and tasted victory along the way. Tsolov even went toe-to-toe with Lindblad during Free Practice 1 in Mexico, making his F1 debut and ending the session just one-tenth slower.
When it comes to the criteria, raw speed remains the absolute baseline, though Permane notes that balancing youth with experience is crucial for the team's wider mission. "Main factors are, as always, pace and speed. That's what comes into it. That's the very first thing we look for but we're not just a team that exists to just solely compete," Permane explained.
While the delay is causing friction, Permane acknowledges the tension without panicking. "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, and I'm sure when we announce it in the coming weeks everyone will be happy." Expect a verdict soon enough.
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