Lawson Backed by Button: ‘Liam’s Your Guy’ at Racing Bulls

Key Takeaways

What Button said about Lawson

Jenson Button said that if Racing Bulls are there to score points, Liam Lawson is the driver to keep. Speaking on Sky Sports, the 2009 world champion called the decision a hard one for the team.

Button argued that Lawson’s consistency is his main strength. “They know what they’re getting with Liam, whereas with Tsolov, they don’t,” he said, while accepting the team may be excited by the prospect of young talent.

Lawson’s season so far

Lawson is ninth in the championship with 83 points, the best season of his career so far. That makes him ‘best of the rest’ behind the big four teams.

Despite those numbers, his future beyond this season has not been confirmed. Lawson is a Racing Bulls driver, and he also raced for Red Bull at rounds 12-14 as a substitute for Isack Hadjar.

Nikola Tsolov and the seat question

Nikola Tsolov is a Red Bull junior driver who is also in the race for a seat at Racing Bulls. The Bulgarian is second in the Formula 2 championship, which Button called an amazing job.

Button also pointed to inconsistency in Tsolov’s career: “He’s had moments of brilliance, but then he’s had other races where it’s not quite been there for him.” That, in his view, is the question mark compared with Lawson’s steadier year.

Lawson’s Mexico GP recovery

Lawson finished seventh in the Mexico GP after starting from the back of the grid. It came after a difficult Friday and Saturday.

He first received a one-place penalty for contact with Max Verstappen in FP2. A technical breach then demoted him from ninth after qualifying. Sunday’s drive showed the kind of recovery Button was referring to when he praised his consistency.

What happens next

No decision on Lawson’s seat has been confirmed, so the Racing Bulls line-up for next season remains open. The source does not say when an announcement will come.

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