Liam Lawson is officially staying in Formula 1 for 2026!

Red Bull have confirmed the 23-year-old will remain with their sister team, Racing Bulls, as the sport heads into a massive regulation overhaul.

Lawson will lead the outfit as its senior driver and line up alongside 18-year-old Brit-Swede Arvid Lindblad. It’s a big nod of confidence for a bloke who’s had to battle his way back into the picture after being shuffled out of the senior Red Bull seat just two races into 2025.

“I’m really looking forward to racing with VCARB in 2026,” Lawson said. “It’s an opportunity I’ll continue to be grateful for as we enter a year of change in F1.”

He added that he’s “ready to get to work with the team as we prepare for the challenging season ahead. It’s going to be an exciting year and I can’t wait to kick it off with my first pre-season with the team.”

Team principal Alan Permane is clearly stoked with the pairing, saying “Liam has shown impressive performance and professionalism throughout this year, he has excelled when conditions have been at their hardest and we look forward to building on this in 2026, while Arvid’s rapid progression marks him as one of the standout young talents in the sport.”

The fallout means Yuki Tsunoda misses out on a fulltime seat, with Honda’s long-time backing no longer a deciding factor now that Ford take over Red Bull’s power unit programme in 2026. Tsunoda will stay on as reserve driver for both Red Bull teams.

Lawson’s results have done the talking. Seven points finishes, including P9 in Qatar last week, have him 14th in the standings and ahead of Tsunoda since the pair swapped seats early in the season.

The F1 season wraps up with Abu Dhabi next week, but for now, Lawson’s future is sorted and the Kiwi fans get to keep backing one of our own. 

We love to see it.