As Motorsport.com reports, asking Liam Lawson about his contract status has become the most awkward routine in the F1 paddock. Following yet another commanding weekend in Texas, F1 TV's Jolyon Palmer bluntly asked the New Zealander when his future for next year would finally be announced. Lawson just laughed off the question, admitting he isn't even thinking about it while he simply presses on and enjoys his racing. Honestly, it is wild that we are even having this conversation.
Because if the Racing Bulls driver were performing like this anywhere else, he would already have a locked-in deal. But nothing is ever straightforward in the Red Bull universe, where a junior driver can be promoted after just 11 starts, dropped after two races, or left hanging despite dominating the midfield. His race in Austin was a masterclass in quiet efficiency, mirroring Kimi Antonelli's untroubled run at the front. Lawson qualified ninth, which is basically a pole position in the modern midfield, and executed a pristine race on hard tyres with zero drama.
He comfortably converted that grid spot into another midfield win, keeping Pierre Gasly behind him from the start and managing his stint to absolute perfection. As he noted after the chequered flag, the weekend execution felt like barely ten percent of the stress he experienced performing his first live concert with friends in Austin on Thursday. With no retirements among the leading four teams, ninth was the absolute ceiling of the machine. That result extends his unofficial midfield championship lead over Pierre Gasly to 35 points, cementing what is an utterly brilliant individual campaign.
This stunning form could finally deliver what Franz Tost's old Faenza outfit could never quite achieve: fifth place in the constructors' championship. The team is sitting proudly as the only midfield squad with more than 100 points, and Lawson is the beating heart of that charge. Yet, his seat remains wide open while the talent factory weighs up options like Nikola Tsolov or Arvid Lindblad. Isack Hadjar is doing what he needs to do, and Max Verstappen is secured, meaning there is zero sporting logic in disrupting the system.
Dropping Lawson after the season he is putting together would rank among the most brutal driver calls in Red Bull history. He is fast, entirely unflappable, and making it nearly impossible to justify looking elsewhere. But as anyone who watches this sport knows all too well, logic and the senior management in Milton Keynes do not always speak the same language.
