Racing Bulls retain Lawson and Lindblad for 2027

Racing Bulls are keeping Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad for 2027. The team is opting for continuity while provisionally fifth in 2026, but the team’s results and those of each driver are not one and the same.

Racing Bulls have confirmed Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad for 2027. The announcement, published on 12 November, sets the Faenza team’s line-up for next season while the team provisionally sits fifth in the 2026 Constructors’ Championship, with 114 points. The decision retains Lawson, who has had a solid season with the team, and Lindblad, a rookie whose results have been more inconsistent.

Fifth place built by both cars

As of 12 November, Racing Bulls have 114 points and sit fifth in the constructors’ standings. Formula 1’s official standings break down that total: 106 points earned in Grands Prix and eight in sprint races. Sprints are shorter races held at some race weekends; their points count towards the championship, but should be distinguished from Grand Prix results.

The constructors’ standings add together the results of both cars in a team. They therefore do not correspond to Lawson’s personal total, or Lindblad’s, and do not allow the 114 points to be attributed to a single driver. The same standings list 20 Grands Prix and six sprints in 2026. They show the standings for the current season: fifth place is provisional, not a final result already secured.

This distinction sheds light on what is at stake in the announcement. Racing Bulls are keeping the two drivers who make up their current line-up rather than rebuilding it for 2027. The team will thus seek to build on the work begun with them, while still facing the same sporting challenge: turning the drivers’ potential and the car’s performance into points.

Lawson brings experience with the team

Liam Lawson, a 24-year-old New Zealander, joined Racing Bulls after his stint at Red Bull Racing. An analysis published by Formula 1 describes his 2026 season with the Italian team as particularly solid. It also notes that he scored points in 15 of the 20 Grands Prix, but specifies that two of those results came when he was standing in for a driver at Red Bull. His sprint results are a separate category: he scored points in three races.

These figures give an indication of his consistency, but do not by themselves sum up his contribution to the team. Lawson’s points total in the drivers’ standings also includes his races with Red Bull, so it cannot be used as it stands to measure his contribution to Racing Bulls’ 114 points. The two standings answer different questions: the first tracks the driver over the season, while the second adds together each constructor’s results.

Lindblad: a first season to read both ways

Arvid Lindblad, a 19-year-old Briton, is contesting his first Formula 1 season. He scored points in his very first Grand Prix, in Australia. According to Formula 1’s analysis, he then finished in the points at ten of eleven weekends in the middle of the season. This spell shows that he was able to string together useful results, but does not describe his entire year.

His last four events before the announcement ended without a point. In Brazil, he moved from 18th to 11th place: a climb up the order during the race, but not a points finish. These benchmarks prevent his season from being reduced to a run of successes or, conversely, to his recent results. Beyond the points, the analysis by Lawrence Barretto for Formula 1 highlights improvements in his technical feedback and his composure under pressure.

Team principal Alan Permane described the pair as a balance between experience and ambition. This is the explanation given by the team to justify its decision. It highlights the development seen in both drivers and their progress as a duo.

Continuity: a working choice, not a promise

For a team, keeping its drivers makes it possible to build on shared reference points and lessons accumulated over the course of races. Lawson already knows the Racing Bulls environment; Lindblad has spent a season discovering the demands of Formula 1. The combination may avoid some of the adjustment that a new line-up would entail. However, it does not remove the need to improve the car or turn race weekends into results.

Racing Bulls belong to the same group as Red Bull Racing, but the two teams are distinct and have separate standings. The announced decision concerns Racing Bulls’ two seats for 2027; it does not mean that Lawson or Lindblad will join the Red Bull Racing team that season.

The announcement therefore settles an important detail for next season: the line-up stays in place. Its true sporting significance will be measured on track, over qualifying sessions, races and the points scored by the two cars. For now, Racing Bulls have chosen to extend an existing partnership rather than bet on a new line-up, with the 2026 season still to be completed.