With the 2026 Formula One season drawing to a close and teams already setting their eyes on the 2027 season, every performance matters for the drivers who are yet to secure their seat for next year.

On one of the most important weekends of the year thus far, there were a handful of incidents that could put certain drivers' Formula One futures at risk, even more than they already were.

From Valtteri Bottas' unfortunate suspension failure, to Liam Lawson's practice two incident with Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon's very public dispute with his Haas team, some of the drivers on the grid left the Mexican Grand Prix much worse off than they entered it.

Following an incident at the Mexican Grand Prix, David Croft has revealed that he believes it may be over for one driver at his current Formula One team, suggesting that all signs point towards his replacement ahead of the next F1 season.

Mexican Grand Prix Incident Could Cost Driver His Job

According to reports, signs were positive for the driver's hopes for a hefty part of the season, and it was reported after round 17 in Singapore that his team were leaning towards his signature for their remaining 2027 seat.

The driver finished eighth in the Singapore Grand Prix Sprint Race and followed that up with a crucial seventh place in the race, leaving the weekend with a seven-point haul for his team.

After consistently contributing good points towards his team's Constructors' Championship standings, as they push for a historic finish for themselves, all was looking well for the driver, the team's highest-paid driver ever, as conversations around a new contract heated up.

But now, for Liam Lawson, things have taken a drastic turn as his hopes for a seat on the 2027 Formula One grid look almost dead and buried, and certainly out of the window with his current Racing Bulls team.

The collision with Max Verstappen in the second practice session in Mexico, the third time this season Lawson has breached one of his team's rules, caused massive conversation surrounding Lawson, with the former suggesting he wouldn't have done that if he was in Lawson's position.

Both drivers were on the receiving end of a one-place grid penalty for the incident, which didn't prevent Verstappen, one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history, from winning the race, but certainly may have damaged Lawson's reputation with the Red Bull hierarchy.

• June 2026 — Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane denied reports Nikola Tsolov was promised a 2027 seat.
• July 2026 — Permane publicly described F2 leader Tsolov as "next in line" for promotion.
• October 2026 — Lawson took double points at Singapore, finishing seventh in the race.
• October 2026 — Lawson and Verstappen collided in Mexico practice, earning one-place grid penalties each.
• November 2026 — Lawson recovered from a pit-lane start to finish seventh in Mexico.

F1 Insider Reveals What He Knows About Driver's Future

Following the incident, David Croft believes he noticed a shift in Lawson's demeanour for the remainder of the Mexican Grand Prix, suggesting that the Racing Bulls switch looks more likely than ever.

"On a weekend where I think we all detected a bit of a shift in his demeanour as the weekend went on, and I know there's been no official announcement, it's just looking more and more likely that they're going to change their lineup for next year," David Croft said on the F1 show.

"Nothing is official as yet. We got the impression as the weekend went on that it wasn't going to go in Liam's favour."

Overall, it wasn't a bad weekend for Lawson. The New Zealander started his race from the pit lane following technical regulation breaches, but that wasn't enough to stop him from fighting back to seventh place and claiming more crucial points for his team.

Despite David Croft's expectations as the season approaches its end, more people in the Formula One world believe that Lawson's performances do not warrant this treatment.

Shock at Lawson's Uncertainty Within Racing Bulls

Bernie Collins believes that Lawson's performances have been enough for him to keep his seat, suggesting they shouldn't be replacing their better performing driver.

"It just doesn't make sense when you at the points that both have. It's hard to see how a driver who has over double the points of the other driver, and we all think Arvid Lindblad has done a good job this year. How can you lose your highest-scoring points driver for any other driver, without them deciding to walk away?

"You're replacing the person who's got your team into the constructors' position that they're currently in, largely."

Following the Mexican Grand Prix, Lawson currently sits above teammate Lindblad in the Drivers' Championship with 69 points exclusively with Racing Bulls and 14 with Red Bull, compared to Lindblad's 38.

Despite this, Racing Bulls look to be leaning towards F2 Championship hopeful Nikola Tsolov for their remaining 2027 Formula One seat, which David Croft believes will not be taken kindly by Liam Lawson.