Racing Bulls doing "much better than on Monday" at Barcelona F1 test
Liam Lawson says Racing Bulls is making “big gains” and having a “pretty strong test in terms of reliability”
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Racing Bulls is “in a much better place than on Monday” at Formula 1’s Barcelona pre-season test, according to Liam Lawson.
Amid F1’s regulatory overhaul, teams are allowed to run on three days each in the five-day shakedown – which is taking place behind closed doors – and Racing Bulls picked Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The Red Bull Ford-powered VCARB 03 has had a productive test so far, completing – according to SoyMotor’s unofficial timing data – 88 laps on Monday with Lawson, 120 laps on Wednesday with his rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad, then 64 laps for Lawson on Thursday morning alone.
Racing Bulls did cause two red flags on Monday and Wednesday, but this did not prevent the team from accumulating what amounts to 1267km’s worth of data (787 miles).
“We just keep learning,” Lawson told F1 at lunchtime on Thursday. “We're making, obviously, big gains, but so is everybody else. 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.”
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Asked if Racing Bulls was where it expected to be in terms of mileage and data, the New Zealander replied: “In terms of mileage, yes. We've honestly 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. So that will 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.”
Lindblad is now taking the VCARB 03 over for the afternoon. “We carry on learning,” Lawson added. “We'll obviously sit down and go through the stuff that we tried this morning and make a bit of a game plan for some new stuff this afternoon to test.”
Racing Bulls will then have nearly two weeks to go through all the data before the first Bahrain test from 11-13 February.
Photos from Barcelona shakedown
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Barcelona shakedown, in photos
Share Or Save This Story
Fuel system problem curtails McLaren’s day at Barcelona F1 test
Aston Martin's 2026 F1 car is finally on track, causes red flag
Lewis Hamilton: "Today I did 85 laps in the morning, which is amazing"
Arvid Lindblad goes off in brand-new Racing Bulls F1 car
The Racing Bulls F1 2026 livery feature fans can't stop talking about
Red Bull and Racing Bulls 2026 F1 launch: Catch up here
Arvid Lindblad unsure if he's "entirely ready" for F1 - despite praise from Racing Bulls
First impression of new Red Bull F1 engine: “Not perfect yet, but fine”
Racing Bulls hires former Red Bull, Aston Martin F1 tech chief
Cindric returns to Team Penske for 2026 as McLaughlin’s strategist
NASCAR postpones Saturday action, makes Bowman Gray Clash one-day event
Williams F1 announces new partnership with major British brand ahead of FW48 launch
Spencer Bayston returns to World of Outlaws with Stenhouse Jr, Marshall conviction
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments