Racing Bulls challenge Lawson to eliminate 'inexplicable' lows in 2026

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane has issued a direct challenge to Liam Lawson for the 2026 season: eliminate the inconsistent, 'inexplicable' low points in his performance to become an indispensable asset for the team. Permane highlighted Lawson's flashes of 'real genius' but stressed the need for unwavering consistency to secure his long-term future in Formula 1.

Why it matters:

For a driver in the volatile Red Bull ecosystem, performance consistency isn't just a goal—it's a necessity for survival. Lawson, now the experienced head at Racing Bulls alongside rookie Arvid Lindblad, is at a critical career juncture where he must prove he can deliver top-tier results weekend after weekend to justify his place on the grid beyond 2026.

The details:

• Team principal Alan Permane explicitly stated the team's goal is to reach a point where they think, "'Wow, we've got to hang on to this guy.'"
• Lawson has demonstrated high potential, with Permane citing examples of "real genius," such as his qualifying performances in Baku and Las Vegas in 2025, where he out-qualified then-teammate Isack Hadjar by half a second.
• The Consistency Problem: The core issue is unexplained dips in form. Permane noted that "sometimes inexplicably, he will go out in Q1, and he doesn't understand it." Eliminating these poor sessions is identified as the key to unlocking further progress.
• The New Dynamic: Lawson's 2026 season will be fundamentally different. He is no longer the junior prospect but the established reference point, partnered with highly-touted 18-year-old rookie Arvid Lindblad.
• Internal Pressure: Lawson must use the intra-team battle with Lindblad—a fast but unproven talent—to apply pressure and demonstrate his superior experience and racecraft, showing 'no mercy' to solidify his own position.

What's next:

The 2026 season is a make-or-break opportunity for Lawson to define his F1 career trajectory.

• His primary objective is to transform his occasional brilliance into a reliable, weekend-to-weekend commodity, making those 'inexplicable' lows a thing of the past.
• Success would not only secure his place at Racing Bulls but could potentially reopen doors within the wider Red Bull program. Failure to find consistency, however, could see him overtaken by the next generation of talent, with Lindblad waiting in the wings.
• Permane believes that once the consistency issue is solved, "the rest will start snowballing and improve," setting the stage for Lawson to finally deliver on his long-recognized potential.