Karpov: Red Bull must stop judging Liam Lawson by two F1 races in 2025

Keeping Liam Lawson in Formula 1 for 2027 is only a first step, Autosport columnist Oleg Karpov argues. Red Bull should not let two poor races alongside Max Verstappen after Lawson’s 2025 promotion define its view of the New Zealander, he writes. Lawson had made only 11 F1 starts before moving to the senior team.

Lawson’s 2026 results offer a contrast: he scored points in five consecutive races, finished four of them seventh, and is ninth in the standings. Karpov also points to Lawson’s preparation: he worked on the VCARB 03’s development in 2025 and tested it before the 2026 season. Karpov calls it the first F1 car Lawson could truly regard as his own. Lawson also stood in for Isack Hadjar for three races.

Karpov credits Helmut Marko’s junior programme with producing two four-time world champions. His criticism is that a system measured against Verstappen can overlook drivers who develop differently. He sees Red Bull’s decision to retain Lawson rather than give Nikola Tsolov a place as a possible sign of change; the real test, in his view, is whether the team gives young drivers time to develop instead of treating their careers as if they have an expiry date.