Having started from third on the gird, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson has provisionally finished eighth at the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace. In a wet weekend of qualifying and racing, the Kiwi put in another stella performance while still being unconfirmed for a 2027 seat with his team.
McLaren’s Lando Norris won the race from Oracle Red Bulls’ Max Verstappen with Isaac Hadjar third.
Race stewards are yet to investigate and decide on an incident involving Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lawson during the penultimate lap. Leclerc ‘tapped’ Lawson while attempting a pass which could result in a time penalty which would in turn hand seventh position to Lawson.
In another standout performance, Lawson’s advantage is that he has continuously grown his value on the Formula One grid since his demotion from Oracle Red Bull Racing back down to Racing Bulls after two Grand Prix races early in 2025. Since then, he has continually put in solid and reliable performances, gaining valuable Manufacturers’ points for his team and earning a very positive reputation.
This is vitally important for ‘newbies’ on the grid. There are plenty of examples of drivers who earned their way onto the grid, but once there, never earned their way to stay on the grid.
What does this mean for Lawson? There are solid reasons to confidently say that Lawson is now in a position to stay on the grid, whether it is with Racing Bulls or any other F1 team. He has a reputation for performing rather than under performing.
We can expect his position with Racing Bulls for the 2027 season to be confirmed.
Manufacturers’ Standings
1/ Mercedes 652
2/ Ferrari 512
3/ Red Bull Racing 415
4/ McLaren 398
5/ Racing Bulls 112
6/ Alpine 69
7/ Haas F1 Team 31
8/ Audi 28
9/ Williams 12
10/ Aston Martin 7
11/ Cadillac 0
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