Confirmed 👍 

Stuff article for the above (in case it cant fit on your screen 😂)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360905774/liam-lawson-remain-formula-1-2026

Great news for him. Hope he can kick onto some great performances next year. In his shoes I'd be courting some other teams for a seat for 2027 and beyond.

A hard pill for Tsunoda to swallow, but will Lindblad be next season's Lawson, or will he be next season's Hadjar? 

Either way, I'd say the way this team operates, Tsunoda won't have to wait long before he gets at least a couple of drives. 

Handsomedan:

 

A hard pill for Tsunoda to swallow, but will Lindblad be next season's Lawson, or will he be next season's Hadjar? 

Either way, I'd say the way this team operates, Tsunoda won't have to wait long before he gets at least a couple of drives. 

 

Lindblad may be next season's Tsunoda based on what others here say about him

He seems to be the last man standing in the Red Bull junior program, so he gets the nod based on existing, vs being great

He was doing karts in 2022, sounds a bit fast tracked to me 

JPNZ:

 

Second report out now that Liam will stay with Racing Bulls

 

 

 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360905609/liam-lawson-remain-formula-1-2026-report

 

the only reason Lawson is in F1 is because he got lucky and they promoted him from Red Bull to Racing Bulls.

if he stayed at Red Bull today would be the end of his career

i hope he drives more and talks less next year

tdgeek:

 

Lindblad may be next season's Tsunoda based on what others here say about him

 

He seems to be the last man standing in the Red Bull junior program, so he gets the nod based on existing, vs being great

 

He was doing karts in 2022, sounds a bit fast tracked to me 

 

Fantastic news for Lawson, he's thoroughly deserved the extension after a difficult season. But for the mistakes in Miami and Hungary he would be sitting on over 50 points and seriously close to the much-lauded Hadjar in the WDC. Needs to keep building next year and I do hope he is able to swap sides of the garage and get under Hamelin's wing.

As for Lindblad, he's probably a better adversary for Lawson than Iwasa. Reading the interwebs there are very few F1 followers who believe his promotion to Racing Bulls is deserved. His record in F4-3-2 is not a patch on the likes of Russell, Leclerc, Norris or Piastri and the suggestion from Red Bull that he's the next Verstappen is little more than energy drinks company hyperbole at best. His solitary recent title over here in the FROC has to be seen for what it is, a cynical attempt to pad his very average record and gain SL points against easy opposition.

For Lawson, he needs to dominate Lindblad and establish himself as the top dog in the team. If he can do that his standing on the grid will improve significantly and potentially give him opportunities away from Red Bull. That has to be his medium-term goal if he doesn't want to end up like Tsunoda. If he can get superiority over Lindblad and Tsolov is able to dominate F2 as some expect then Lindblad's standing at Red Bull as the next big thing will quickly weaken. If Lindblad does defy the current evidence and is strong in F1 then that will be bad news for Lawson's longevity on the grid.

thermonuclear:

 

tdgeek:

 

Lindblad may be next season's Tsunoda based on what others here say about him

 

He seems to be the last man standing in the Red Bull junior program, so he gets the nod based on existing, vs being great

 

He was doing karts in 2022, sounds a bit fast tracked to me 

 

 

Fantastic news for Lawson, he's thoroughly deserved the extension after a difficult season. But for the mistakes in Miami and Hungary he would be sitting on over 50 points and seriously close to the much-lauded Hadjar in the WDC. Needs to keep building next year and I do hope he is able to swap sides of the garage and get under Hamelin's wing.

 

As for Lindblad, he's probably a better adversary for Lawson than Iwasa. Reading the interwebs there are very few F1 followers who believe his promotion to Racing Bulls is deserved. His record in F4-3-2 is not a patch on the likes of Russell, Leclerc, Norris or Piastri and the suggestion from Red Bull that he's the next Verstappen is little more than energy drinks company hyperbole at best. His solitary recent title over here in the FROC has to be seen for what it is, a cynical attempt to pad his very average record and gain SL points against easy opposition.

 

For Lawson, he needs to dominate Lindblad and establish himself as the top dog in the team. If he can do that his standing on the grid will improve significantly and potentially give him opportunities away from Red Bull. That has to be his medium-term goal if he doesn't want to end up like Tsunoda. If he can get superiority over Lindblad and Tsolov is able to dominate F2 as some expect then Lindblad's standing at Red Bull as the next big thing will quickly weaken. If Lindblad does defy the current evidence and is strong in F1 then that will be bad news for Lawson's longevity on the grid.

 

probably not a fair comparison due to what we know of him now, 

but there's a guy, can't remember his name, raced karts for 10 years then straight into F1 after a bunch of F3 races.

nobody questions him

Batman:

 

probably not a fair comparison due to what we know of him now, 

 

but there's a guy, can't remember his name, raced karts for 10 years then straight into F1 after a bunch of F3 races.

 

nobody questions him

 

I'm sorry Batman, you've lost me. Which comparison doesn't stand up to scrutiny in your mind?

thermonuclear:

 

Batman:

 

probably not a fair comparison due to what we know of him now, 

 

but there's a guy, can't remember his name, raced karts for 10 years then straight into F1 after a bunch of F3 races.

 

nobody questions him

 

 

I'm sorry Batman, you've lost me. Which comparison doesn't stand up to scrutiny in your mind?

 

 

 

I believe the reference is to Michael Schumacher

thermonuclear:

 

Batman:

 

probably not a fair comparison due to what we know of him now, 

 

but there's a guy, can't remember his name, raced karts for 10 years then straight into F1 after a bunch of F3 races.

 

nobody questions him

 

 

I'm sorry Batman, you've lost me. Which comparison doesn't stand up to scrutiny in your mind?

 

 

 

Max Verstappen

I read a bit about Lindblad on F1.com, that seems positive although some here feel otherwise. Maybe he can grow into it, as Red Bull's feeder cupboard is pretty much bare

Apart from the one here that continually bags Lawson, he is in a good place, especially as being dumped after two races while Yuki has failed immeasurably from day dot, but thats the Honda connection. That he is reserve driver means Red Bull and Yuki have no options, so lets give a bit and live with it, for now. Methinks if another driver, younger or older became available, Yuki will be out.

Batman:

 

thermonuclear:

 

Batman:

 

probably not a fair comparison due to what we know of him now, 

 

but there's a guy, can't remember his name, raced karts for 10 years then straight into F1 after a bunch of F3 races.

 

nobody questions him

 

 

I'm sorry Batman, you've lost me. Which comparison doesn't stand up to scrutiny in your mind?

 

 

 

 

Max Verstappen

 

8 years. Dominated nationally then internationally. Thats many steps above his competitors some of which are now F1

Nothing to see here.

Batman:

 

thermonuclear

 

I'm sorry Batman, you've lost me. Which comparison doesn't stand up to scrutiny in your mind?

 

 

 

 

Max Verstappen

 

I didn't mention Verstappen at all, I was mainly observing that Lindblad's junior record is fairly unmemorable. The closer he has got to F1, the more Lindblad has struggled to rise to the top. He's not an F3 or F2 champion going into next year and his record simply doesn't compare to those of Norris or Piastri or Russell or Leclerc at a similar stage, all of whom have risen to the sharp end of F1. 

And, if Lindblad's record doesn't rival those drivers then it certainly doesn't hold a candle to Verstappen's junior record. He's arguably the best driver to ever pull on a race suit or definitely in that conversation even if you don't hold that view. Even with his superior record in karting and F3 I recall there was plenty of questioning around Verstappen's jump straight into F1.

If the age rule hadn't changed because of Verstappen there's no way Lindblad was ever good enough for F1 at 17yo. Mad Marko the Motorsport Advisor might consider Lindblad is the next Verstappen-level driver or the successor to him at Red Bull but the results haven't supported that. So far the only talent Marko has managed to spot is Verstappen, seemed to miss the other drivers mentioned above for whatever reasons.

Anyway I guess we all won't have too long to wait to see if Lindblad's the real deal or not and I'm happy to be proven wrong, it's only an opinion based on what I've observed of the kid. At the end of the day junior records are mostly for writing about in their memoirs when they are fifty, fat and retired from the track.

But Hadjar looks a far stronger prospect for Red Bull than Lindblad given what's been seen of them both so far. 

Thanks for clarifying what you were on about. :) 

Yuki giving Max the tow during qualifying is awesome sensible teamwork. 

Max really has done all that he can to be in contention, and this is McLarens to lose now.