Permane hoping for quick resolution to Racing Bulls' 2027 driver uncertainty

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane wants to be able to announce the team's 2027 driver line-up soon in order to end speculation over Liam Lawson’s future.

Lawson (above) has delivered a strong 2026 Formula 1 season to sit ninth overall and pick up 89 points so far, more than double the next driver – Pierre Gasly – in the drivers’ championship. Despite that, Lawson is still awaiting confirmation of whether he will be retained by Racing Bulls next year or replaced by Formula 2 title contender Nikola Tsolov, and Permane admitted he is getting tired of the ongoing uncertainty.

“[News will come] soon, as I've been saying for a long, long time!” Permane told F1 TV. “Hopefully. I want to get it done, because I want you guys to stop asking me every single week – multiple times every single week. Let's get it done soon.”

Starting from third place at Interlagos, Lawson overtook Lando Norris at Turn 2 and put pressure on Kimi Antonelli early on before eventually finishing seventh. Permane was impressed with the New Zealander’s performance.

“He drove… the first few laps were amazing," he said. "Really, really impressive. And then of course, I think what happened is the track dries a little bit, and those guys with a bit more downforce look after the intermediate tires a little bit more on the drying track, and then they just ease away from us.

“But a race where getting onto the dry tire and then getting back onto the inter, and of course, then we had another pit stop in the middle for another set of softs… We got all those decisions pretty much right. So it was a strong race.

“Certainly, our models showed that those top cars would come through, the cars that were at the back. I'm surprised the Ferraris didn't come through a little bit stronger. I guess [Lewis] Hamilton left it a lap too late to get onto the intermediate tires at the end, which helped us out quite a bit.

“So, a P7 from Liam again, it's amazing.”

While teammate Arvid Lindblad missed out on points in 11th place, Permane was also struck by the performance level from the rookie as he fought through from 18th on the grid in tough conditions.

“If we look at his middle stint, which is when we put the new softs on, his pace is there," Permane said. "His pace is as good, if not better, than the rest of the midfield. Certainly very similar to Liam, very similar to Nico [Hulkenberg]. So, a super strong race from him.”