Liam Lawson confirms ‘big gains’ as competition progress remains unknown

Liam Lawson confirmed that Racing Bulls is making “big gains” in the Barcelona shakedown. The caveat, though, is that so are its rivals.

Alas, Lawson believes that the true pecking order will remain “unknown” for quite some time, so the fact that Racing Bulls is making progress with their VCARB 03 is a positive sign at this early stage of the new F1 2026 regulations.

Liam Lawson confirms ‘big gains’ amid F1 2026 order uncertainty

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Lawson put 88 laps on the board on Day 1 of the Barcelona closed-doors shakedown. New rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad pumped in 120 on Day 3, while on Racing Bulls’ third and final permitted day of running, Lawson signed off with another 64 unofficial laps completed in the morning.

“We just keep learning. We’re making, obviously, big gains, but so is everybody else,” Lawson told the Formula 1 website.

“So, yeah, very, very different cars, but in a much better place than we were on Monday, which is the main thing.

“We just need to keep learning and improving the car.

“In terms of mileage, yes, we’ve obviously had a pretty strong test in terms of reliability. So that’s been a box ticked in terms of expectations.

“It’s very hard. Obviously, we don’t know where anybody else is. That’ll still be quite unknown for a while.

“But the main thing is, we’re getting the laps down that we want to and learning what we need to about our car.”

Asked for the team’s plans going forward, with two official tests to come in Bahrain, Lawson added: “Honestly, just to keep learning. It’s so early days at the moment.

“We’re going to go to Bahrain on a very different track, with a very different climate as well. So it’s going to be very, very different.

“It’s going to be great for us to learn how the car performs in very different places, different tracks.

“But yeah, outside of that, honestly, the main goal is to just try and keep learning and improving the car and discovering what we can do.”

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Lawson finds himself as the experienced head at Red Bull’s junior F1 team in 2026. He lines-up alongside British teenager Arvid Lindblad, who makes the step up from Formula 2.

The Lawson and Lindblad pairing has taken its initial steps in the Barcelona shakedown.

“So far it’s been good,” said Lawson of his Lindblad alliance.

“Obviously, a very different year to come into Formula 1 with these cars.

“So obviously for us, it’s important to communicate well and work together on trying to basically build this car into as quick as possible.

“So yeah, so far, it’s been good.”

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