Liam Lawson has the talent to win a Formula 1 world championship, but he won’t be in a position to try unless he leaves the Red Bull family.

That’s according to Guenther Steiner, who doesn’t believe Red Bull will promote the Kiwi to the senior squad again, and Racing Bulls is not a top-four team.

Guenther Steiner explains why Liam Lawson must leave Red Bull

With three rounds remaining in this year’s championship, Lawson is best of the rest in the Drivers’ standings, with more than double the points of ninth-placed Pierre Gasly.

The New Zealander has scored 89 points, with his tally boosted by his current five-race points-scoring streak that includes four P7 results.

Lawson’s consistency has been such that he has scored points in all but five Grands Prix, and yet he is still waiting to learn whether or not he has a place on next year’s grid with Racing Bulls.

The team is still deciding whether to retain Lawson or promote Red Bull Formula 2 driver Nikola Tsolov for F1 2027. Although Arvid Lindblad is also yet to be confirmed, his seat is believed to be safe.

Steiner, however, believes Racing Bulls will confirm Lawson for next season, but the former Haas team principal has urged the 24-year-old to look at his options for the following season as he won’t be moving up the ranks with the Red Bull family.

Lawson briefly raced for Red Bull last season, joining the senior team for the F1 2025 championship, only to be demoted after just two races.

While he did return to Red Bull for a three-race stint this season, that was to fill in for the injured Isack Hadjar.

The Frenchman, though, was confirmed by Red Bull for next season as he prepared to return to the grid at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. That shut that door to Lawson, who is now awaiting word on his Racing Bulls future.

Go deeper: Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls contract

“Firstly,” Steiner told New Zealand radio station MoreFM, “yes I think they will stick with him next year. And then I think Liam needs to make his own way out of the Red Bull family.

“I think his promotion back to the Red Bull team from Racing Bulls, I don’t think that will happen. And if you don’t go there, he cannot be world champion.

“Has he got the talent to be world champion? I think in the right car, he can be. There are a lot of them with similar talent like him at the moment in Formula 1.

“But when you get in the right team at the right place at the right time, he could achieve it.

“I think he has shown in this moment that he can do a very good job with Racing Bulls, who are not in the top four cars, but he’s always the best of the rest.

“He shows he can do a good job, but now he needs to be in the big machines and at one of the top four teams.”