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NZ v India from 7.45pm tonight'He’s delivering’: Guenther Steiner upbeat on Liam Lawson’s future
Sport Nation • October 22nd, 2026 12:40 pm
Liam Lawson | Photo: Florent Gooden/Photosport
Former principal of the Haas F1 Team, Guenther Steiner, believes Kiwi F1 driver Liam Lawson is clearly "the best of the rest".
Lawson will race in the upcoming United States Grand Prix this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, where he will showcase his musical talents on the stage, and then on the track in his Racing Bulls car.
Drive to Survive star Steiner told Sport Nation that Lawson’s true ceiling won’t be clear until he gets another opportunity with a top car.
"I think he showed what he can do. Where is the ceiling? You need to see him in one of the top cars to see where the ceiling is," Steiner told Sport Nation Mornings.
Guenther Steiner | Photo: Supplied
"In the midfield, he's doing very well. He's the best of the rest at the moment. He went through a tough time when he was let go from the Red Bull team. He rolled his sleeves up and came back stronger.
"He learned a lot because what makes you suffer makes you tougher, and he came back stronger, and I think that he will be in the Racing Bulls next year; what is coming after next year, we don't know."
Steiner said that with Lawson's talent, he should also consider other possible opportunities at different F1 teams.
"With his talent, there will be opening up some other opportunities in different teams. I don't think we have to think about Red Bull for him because he needs to start to think about what is beyond Red Bull.
"But I think they keep him there to see how Isack Hadjar is doing at Red Bull, and then they will decide. But he will be interesting also for other teams as well."
Guenther Steiner believes SVG could have success in Formula 1 | Sport Nation Mornings
When asked if he thinks Red Bull will regret not giving Lawson a seat, the 61-year-old motorsport expert said they did what's best for their team.
"I wouldn't say second-guessing themselves [Red Bull], I think the opportunity first time around for Liam was just too short, he did two races and that's just not enough."
"You cannot prove yourself to a new team; your head is spinning, and he was very young at the time. You don't know where you are, and you immediately get the pressure that you need to perform against nobody else other than Max Verstappen, who is the best of the best. So it was not an easy time.
"But with Red Bull, I don't think they regret it, but the good thing is they gave him a second opportunity. They didn't let him go, they gave him second opportunity and fair play to him. He took the second opportunity, and he's delivering."
Listen to the full interview below:
