Guenther Steiner backs Liam Lawson to keep Racing Bulls seat for 2027

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has backed Liam Lawson to keep his Racing Bulls seat for the 2027 Formula 1 season, the NZ Herald reported on 22 October. Speaking ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, Steiner said Lawson’s performances made it hard to see why the team would replace him. Racing Bulls has yet to confirm its 2027 driver lineup.

Steiner made the comments on Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast, according to the NZ Herald. ‘If you replace Liam now, he’s doing very well, look at the points he has got and how he’s performing, even if you’ve got the young guy behind that, why would you do that?’ he said. He added that Red Bull had invested in Lawson’s development and said he was ‘quite convinced’ the driver would stay.

Lawson’s results and the 2027 Racing Bulls decision

Steiner argued that Red Bull made that switch too quickly. ‘He wasn’t given a chance in my opinion,’ he said, while describing Lawson as a driver who had worked for and earned his place in Formula 1. Lawson went on to finish the 2025 season with more points than Tsunoda, according to the NZ Herald.

Racing Bulls began as Toro Rosso in 2006 as a development team for Red Bull’s younger drivers. Steiner suggested that the team’s role could become harder to define as it competes more strongly in its own right. The NZ Herald reported that Racing Bulls held fifth place in the constructors’ championship at the time of his comments, behind Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

Team principal Alan Permane had said Racing Bulls expected to choose its 2027 lineup in the coming weeks, Formula 1 reported. Its account identified Lawson, Arvid Lindblad and Nikola Tsolov in the discussion around the seats. Steiner’s backing expresses his view of Lawson’s case; the decision rests with the team.