Liam Lawson has given a positive assessment of the Racing Bulls team's preparations for the 2026 Formula 1 season. The team completed over 1,000 laps during pre-season testing, emphasizing the car's dependability. Lawson expressed confidence in the team's readiness for the opening race in Melbourne.
Liam Lawson, the 24-year-old driver for Racing Bulls, shared an encouraging update on the team's new car following pre-season testing. The Faenza-based outfit accumulated 1,052 laps across a private shakedown in Barcelona and six days at the Bahrain International Circuit, ranking fifth among 11 teams. This placed them ahead of most midfield rivals, with only Haas completing more laps in that group.
Lawson himself drove 488 laps, while his rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad logged 654, the second-highest total. This performance underscores the VCARB 03's reliability, which outperformed its sister car from Red Bull. Although some power unit issues from the RB22 may affect Racing Bulls, the team focused on the overhauled 2026 regulations for power units and chassis.
"It's been a really encouraging week, learning new things about the car every day," Lawson said after testing in Sakhir. He noted the importance of this year's pre-season runs, given the regulatory changes. "This season's testing has proved to be more important than any other year, so it's great to see the progress we've made in such a short space of time."
The team views reliability as a key achievement, allowing them to shift toward refinements before the Australian Grand Prix. "It's been a very big challenge, but reliability has been strong, so we feel prepared as a team to bring our package to Melbourne," Lawson added.