Racing Bulls F1 team principal Alan Permane says his team’s 2027 driver line-up decision is due in “a couple of weeks” as the organisation decides between Liam Lawson and Nikola Tsolov for the final VCARB seat.
Red Bull has a decision to make on the identity of Arvid Lindblad’s team-mate for 2027, as the rookie has proven his worth during a strong rookie campaign and remains in the long-term frame for a Red Bull Racing seat.
That leaves incumbent Liam Lawson and reserve driver Nikola Tsolov, the 19-year-old Bulgarian who has impressed in F2 and is next in line in the Red Bull junior programme.
Lawson has admirably rehabilitated himself from an extremely brief 2025 Red Bull Racing stint and has hit another gear in 2026, despite still not having had the luxury of completing an entire season for one single team. Lawson was afforded a second Red Bull opportunity earlier this year, deputising for the injured Isack Hadjar and impressing on his outings in the RB22 before returning to his more familiar cockpit.
Speaking on Friday in Singapore, VCARB team principal Permane acknowledged the team had somewhat of a luxury problem on its hands with its three “fantastic” options, but insisted the team was not in a hurry to make a decision.
“It’s going to be in the coming weeks,” Permane said. “We’re not in a rush. Everyone knows we’ve got two fantastic drivers. We’ve got a fantastic driver in F2 at the moment and they’re all there and ready to go. But three doesn’t fit into two, of course, and we’re just going to take a little bit more time and make sure we get the right pairing for next year.”
While Lawson has seemingly done enough in isolation to merit another year at Racing Bulls, the team has to weigh that up against its raison d’etre of being a proving ground for talent ahead of an eventual Red Bull Racing promotion, which is why promoting exciting F2 frontrunner Tsolov to race alongside Lindblad could also make sense.
Nikola Tsolov, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
When asked about his and the Red Bull family’s criteria, Permane replied: “There are many, many things. I guess top of the list is speed and pace and all that goes with that.
“We’re in a slightly unique situation, I guess. We want to bring on young drivers. We want to bring on young talent and, of course, we have one eye on them progressing in the future. So it’s not just about the here and now. It’s also about what they can do in the future.”
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