Hinchcliffe warns Racing Bulls over possible inexperienced 2027 pairing

Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe says a possible 2027 pairing of Arvid Lindblad and Nikola Tsolov at Racing Bulls could hamper both drivers’ development, as the team weighs whether to retain Liam Lawson.

Racing Bulls has not finalised its 2027 line-up. Lawson is still waiting to hear whether he will be retained; Lindblad is expected to stay, while Tsolov, who is in contention for the F2 drivers’ championship, is also a candidate for the seat alongside him.

Hinchcliffe said Lawson’s greater experience has already helped Lindblad during the latter’s rookie F1 campaign. If Tsolov joined Lindblad, Tsolov would be learning from a driver with just one year of F1 experience, Hinchcliffe argued. “Both drivers, I think, suffer in that situation,” he said on the F1 Nation podcast.

Hinchcliffe drew on his own rookie season in IndyCar, when he had an experienced team-mate in Oriol Servia. He said Servia had a decade—perhaps 11 years—of experience, and that a team-mate with only one to three years’ experience would have left him less developed by the end of his rookie season.

Hinchcliffe also argued Lawson’s performances justified keeping him for 2027. After 18 rounds, Lawson had scored points in 13 and was on course to finish ninth in the drivers’ standings.