Ted Kravitz insists Racing Bulls ‘can’t sack’ Liam Lawson amid 2027 uncertainty

Liam Lawson matched his career-best qualifying at the 2026 Brazil Grand Prix, as he will start the race from third on the grid.

The Kiwi driver made the most of the difficult conditions at Interlagos after the heavily delayed qualifying session, and he initially qualified in fifth place, but due to penalties to drivers ahead of him, he will start from the second row of the grid in third.

This grid position has given Lawson the chance to collect more points for Racing Bulls in the team's fight against Alpine for fifth place in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship.

However, it is still believed that Lawson’s future with Racing Bulls for 2027 is in doubt, as he could lose his seat to Red Bull junior driver Nikola Tsolov.

After the qualifying session in Ted’s Notebook, Sky Sports presenter Ted Kravitz voiced his belief that Racing Bulls ‘can’t sack’ Lawson after his performance on Saturday in Brazil.

“Liam Lawson is starting P3 on the grid,” Kravitz said, “And they can’t sack him now, can they? Or can they?”

After a brief interaction with Alan Permaine, Kravitz continued by saying, “Liam Lawson is third on the grid in a Racing Bulls; they can’t sack him now.

“Even if Nikola Tsolov is Max Verstappen, Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso all rolled into one, where’s the harm in giving Tsolov another year just to cement himself?

“As a reserve, give him all the FP1s you want, and come up with an interesting racing series for him to do. It’s all good experience; you don’t need to rush him in so quickly.

“Maybe he is, and that’s clearly what the hinting is from FP1 in Mexico that Tsolov was extremely impressive, he was calm, he was quick, he’s doing the Testing of Previous Cars, that he was amazing.

“And he is Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna incarnate, and he’s going to be that good, and that’s why they want to put him in.

“But he’s still young; he’s only 20 years old, so there is time yet. And listen if it doesn’t work out, give Liam Lawson half a season and say we’re going to put Tsolov in the second half of the season, at least giving you some time.

“Because to drop Lawson now and leave him with no other options is a bit difficult, and you never know what will happen. There’ll be loads of seats available for 2028. Then at least Lawson will have a bit more time if indeed he is not a part of Red Bull’s long-term plans.

“Williams perhaps? You never know what will happen there. You can’t drop Liam Lawson now. Well, they can. They might.”