Adam Cooper: Sportstalk host on Liam Lawson's 2026 racing fate

Liam Lawson looks set to assist Max Verstappen's Formula 1 championship bid, before learning of his 2026 fate.

Keen to focus on the defending champion's campaign - Red Bull have reportedly pushed their driver selection timeline until after the Qatar Grand Prix on December 1.

Sportstalk host Adam Cooper explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sport with tab in play BED with real time odds
and stats are eighteen bed responsibly.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Adam Cooper sports talk hosters with me, Hello, Coops, Hey,
hit it all right? Liam Lawson took me through this.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
Yeah, well this is starting to get a little nerve wracking,
and obviously we want to know exactly where the New
Zealander is going to be in terms of the Formula
One set up next year under his Red Bulls team. Well, yeah,
it was going to be soon. We thought we'd know.
October was the time frame initially put on it by
a Helmet Marco and the crew at a Red Bull
not to be though, and after a pretty controversial weekend

(00:34):
where where Liam Lawson is making headlines for reasons he
probably preferred not to be. We're hearing that as Max
verst STARp, and of course is the headline driver of
Red Bull, is in a real fight to get another
championship title at the end of the season with five
or so races left. That's where they're putting all their
exsit at the moment here. This so no decision now

(00:54):
likely to be made, No clarity given for the likes
of Liam Lawson and the others chasing the seats until
early December, December one, that rounds of Formula one, so
yet quite some time away.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
What's your gut saying here, coops? Have they actually made
a decision and they just don't want the distraction of
people getting pissy in public because these guys do or
are they really honestly, is it still available to anyone
to be able to win the seat?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
I just can't see how they have not made up
that decitting in their own minds. I mean, if you're
a manager, you're not suddenly just just rolling over at
night not thinking about this, or not have a gut
instinct in your head as to who you want there, right.
I just think that they, you know, for the sake
of the syndicate, for the sake of everything, that they're
doing all their best to see what Max fist stuff
and can get, how high he can achieve, can he

(01:42):
get another title to his name from the end of
the season. That's where they're putting all the energy, and
they probably don't want distractions. They want the likes of
Liam Lawson to still be racing their best to try
and help Max fist stuff and achieve this and get
the most points possible for Red Bull. So it's just
it unnecessary I think, lingering on for quite some time
of just uncertainty for all these drivers and Liam Lawson

(02:03):
the New Zealand a caught right in the middle of it.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Okay, and are you talking netball tonight day?

Speaker 3 (02:07):
We are? Indeed, Yeah, obviously, Heather, I know you've got
the ball rolling on this on the show Friday afternoon
and then it sort of all happened from there, didn't
It's a Netball New Zealand's reappointing Dave Noline. Tyder was
so keen to focus on this on Sports Talk tonight
because I think either this is the outcome that all
or the majority of netball fans wanted just by you know,
just gauging by all the feedback that came in right

(02:29):
through the saga. But this has damaged the sport it
to a whole new level that I think anyone thought
was possible, right just just just the way it's been handled.
You Know, this whole incident where certain players said they
possibly felt unsafe happened way back in January and here
we are in almost November still you know, feeling the
effects of this, and things haven't quite been put right

(02:50):
so I just think the sport's going to have a
long way to go now to to sort of get
the fans back on board with the management, with how
things have been handled, and you sort of wonder how's
high performance set up going to be now under Dame
Nolen Toda with certain players. So yeah, a lot of
questions still, but I think it's going to take a
lot of healing in terms of the sport.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
What's changed to allow her to come back.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
Well, clearly there's been some reassurances from from her that
she had accept that some of these these so called
changes that that Nitball New Zeala want to implement, that
I guess toe that line, that that fine line between
a robust environment but an environment where players feel protected
as well. That's clearly according to some of the rhetorics,
that's clearly what Nickball New Zealand are saying. That's clearly

(03:34):
what Nickble and New Zealand are saying here that I don't.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Know, players just sound like a bunch of wases.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
They do. And the worst thing is for the public
perception of this whole thing. We've been given no examples
of of what's what the problem was, how serious it
was and whether any of the actual allegations or complaints
were you know, we're proven. So that's been so tough
and fans have just been left in the dark here
and you know, especially after all the A and Z
premiership stuff, it's just been a disastrous year in nip So. Yeah,

(04:00):
we'll be chatting a bit about that after seven.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
Thanks Coops.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
Looking forward to That's Adam Cooper.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Sports Talk hoost for more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.
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