Red Bull boss distances himself from Lawson's fate

Laurent Mekies has made it clear that Red Bull will not dictate Racing Bulls’ driver choice for 2027, insisting the responsibility rests with Alan Permane and his Faenza-based team.

With Arvid Lindblad expected to stay for a second season, Liam Lawson and Formula 2 contender Nikola Tsolov are competing for the remaining seat. Tsolov was previously viewed as the favourite, but Lawson’s performances in the back half of the season have strengthened his case considerably.

The Kiwi has scored 89 points this season, more than twice as many as any other midfield driver. He has also outperformed Lindblad on merit in qualifying and races over the past five rounds.

In Brazil last weekend, Lawson finished seventh in difficult conditions, 36 seconds ahead of the next-best midfield driver, Nico Hulkenberg.

Mekies leaves the decision to Faenza

Asked whether Red Bull could justify dropping a driver performing so strongly, Mekies insisted the choice belonged to Racing Bulls.

“It's a number of questions that are to be addressed to Racing Bulls once they have made their decision, so it's a lot of ifs,” he said, quoted by Motorsport.com.

“The Racing Bulls driver decision is down to Racing Bulls. And as much as, yes, we run a common junior programme, we are in the unique positions where, when the good guys are coming out from Racing Bulls, we obviously have the possibility to get them to be promoted to Red Bull Racing, as we have done with Max and as we have done with Isack.

“But how we get to that point is down to them in terms of the F1 stint.

“When it comes to Liam, I can only congratulate him for another very strong weekend. He has been on a fantastic run at first; he has done a very good job with us in the three races where he had to jump in, in an incredible contrast compared to his experience here a year ago, at the beginning of the year.

“And certainly, from that point, we all see that when you return back to Racing Bulls, he has shown on track another step again. And what he showed this weekend is the perfect representation of how strongly he is now performing.”

Permane will have the final say

Permane has hinted at wanting to retain Lawson. But Mekies stressed that offering an opinion was not the same as making the call.

“There is a difference between giving an opinion and having to make a call. I don't have to make a call,” he said.

Asked directly for his own view, Mekies again refused to intervene, smiling as he reiterated where the authority lay.

“I've just spent three minutes trying to tell you that it's a Racing Bulls decision,” he replied.

“I'm not going to publicly vent my opinion so that it becomes a Red Bull Racing decision. No, it's a Racing Bulls decision. They have all the data, they are very experienced.

“Alan is a great guy, he understands racing better than most. It's probably fair that these guys are taking their time, because from a Red Bull perspective, there is no reason to rush.”

Read also: Lawson sends another timely reminder of his worth in Brazil

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