Martin Brundle Fears Racing Bulls Could Axe Liam Lawson For ‘Pathetic’ Reason

Martin Brundle is hoping that one Formula 1 driver does not lose their seat for 2027 due to a ‘pathetic’ and ‘childish’ reason.

After Kimi Antonelli was crowned the 2026 F1 world champion last weekend, the season continues this week with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.

Although the driver’s title has been won, the battle for second place in the world championship is heating up, with the likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Charles Leclerc all involved.

Away from the track, a major talking point within the F1 paddock centres around driver line-ups for next season, with several seats still unconfirmed.

One of the teams yet to confirm their line-up for next season is Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, as they continue to mull over who should get the nod between Arvid Lindblad, Liam Lawson and Nikola Tsolov.

Lindblad and Lawson have performed well in 2026, but Tsolov’s performances have led to doubts over Lawson’s participation for the new campaign.

Martin Brundle Hopes Liam Lawson Is Not Dropped for ‘Pathetic’ and ‘Childish’ Reason

Jerome Miron via Reuters

Speaking on Sky Sports F1, via F1 Oversteer, Brundle stated that it would be ‘pathetic’ and ‘childish’ for Red Bull to use Lawson’s FP2 crash with Verstappen in Mexico City as a reason for him losing his seat.

Brundle explained: “If he dared to be on the racetrack on a preparation lap like Max at the same moment, if that’s a factor in him getting the heave-ho, that’s pathetic.

“Where Liam was like, ‘I am looking around. Yeah, you’ve got to see what the other options are’. So, either he’s got a brilliant poker face, or he knows he’s out of there, which is quite something.

“But I remember starting to beat Michael Schumacher in the Benetton team, and I got biffed at the end of the year.

“It happens in this business for any number of reasons; Sometimes [it is] commercial reasons, political, [the team’s] future, and the teams are thinking a long way ahead, and all the pieces of the jigsaw fit together in a way that do not always look obvious to us standing here talking about it right now. But I think Liam’s done a tremendous job for them.”

Key Events Timeline

• December 2024 — Red Bull promoted Lawson to partner Max Verstappen, replacing the axed Sergio Perez.
• March 2025 — Red Bull demoted Lawson to Racing Bulls after two races, promoting Yuki Tsunoda.
• July 2026 — Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane said Nikola Tsolov is ‘next in line’ for promotion.
• August 2026 — Lawson returned to Red Bull, deputising for the injured Isack Hadjar for three races.
• October 2026 — Lawson admits he could leave the Red Bull set-up.

Last week, F1 journalist Jacky Martens, who was speaking to Paddock Access, said that the situation is currently ’50/50’ when it comes to whether Lawson keeps his seat or gets replaced by Tsolov.

He said: “He said: “They need to make a difficult decision in the next few weeks, Red Bull. I mean, it’s very much 50/50. I wrote an article about it this week for my newspaper and it’s difficult.”