Lawson to survive as Tsolov gets first F1 test

Liam Lawson now looks increasingly likely to keep his Racing Bulls seat for 2027 alongside Arvid Lindblad, even as Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov now completed his first Formula 1 test.

Lawson had appeared vulnerable earlier in the season, but his strong performances - including an impressive stand-in outing for Isack Hadjar at Zandvoort - have strengthened his position.

Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer had already played down the need for a quick decision. "We are very happy with both Liam and Arvid and the job they’re doing," he said at Zandvoort.

"So we’re not in a rush. We have a good pool of drivers coming up through the junior program."

Bayer was similarly positive when asked specifically about Tsolov.

"Arvid and Liam are both doing a fantastic job," he said. "Liam is, I think, on P9 currently in the drivers’ ranking, and he’s shown great pace in qualifying and in races."

"Same really goes for Nikola, who’s doing a really, really good job in Formula 2."

That development program took another step on Thursday when Tsolov drove the 2025 car at Imola in his first Formula 1 outing.

The F2 championship leader completed 690 kilometres in a Testing of Previous Cars program.

"I really enjoyed every lap and it’s difficult to put into words what it means to finally get this opportunity," Tsolov said.

"It’s something I’ve been working towards my whole life, so to finally experience it is pretty incredible."

Team principal Alan Permane praised how quickly the Bulgarian adapted.

"He adapted quickly to the car and showed the composure you want to see from a driver taking on an F1 car for the first time."

"The outing is part of the ongoing development plan the team runs for its junior drivers."

For now, the emerging picture is that Lawson and Lindblad remain favourites for the 2027 Racing Bulls seats, with Tsolov more likely to take on a reserve and development role as Yuki Tsunoda is linked with a move to Indycar.

Elsewhere on the driver market, Alpine has now locked in Franco Colapinto alongside Pierre Gasly for 2027.

"We are now settled from a driver point of view," Flavio Briatore said.

"Franco belongs in Formula 1 and he belongs at this team."