RacingRacing Bulls has put a car in the top 10 at every round of the 2026 Formula 1 season so far, but Liam Lawson says that run has come without real speed. Speaking after Suzuka, the Racing Bulls driver gave a blunt read on where the team stands after Australia, China, and Japan.
“I think, to be honest, we haven’t actually been that fast, but still managed to come away with three points finishes,” Lawson, Racing Bulls driver, said to the media following the Japanese Grand Prix. “So I think it’s when we get a really quick car, we’ll obviously be in a much better place. And if we keep making the decisions we’re making, I think it’s quite exciting.”
The results back up his point about execution. Arvid Lindblad finished eighth on his debut in Melbourne, then Lawson took seventh in both the China Sprint and the China Grand Prix before adding ninth at Suzuka. That has left Racing Bulls on 14 points and seventh in the Constructors’ standings after three rounds.
Lawson has also pointed to the wider picture around the new-rule cars. He said Racing Bulls has done a good job of taking chances while much of the field is still learning how to unlock performance and while reliability remains a concern up and down the grid.
“The biggest challenge is getting our heads around these new cars, the progression, the development of everything,” Lawson, Racing Bulls driver, said to media including RacingNews365. “The first couple of races, there has been a lot happening, we've managed to capitalise on that stuff.”
That leaves the coming April break looking useful for a team that has been tidy in race weekends but still wants more from the car. Asked in China whether the pause would help Racing Bulls, Lawson said yes, mainly because it gives the Faenza-based team more time to prepare parts and tighten up reliability before the next run of races.
“I think so,” Lawson, Racing Bulls driver, said to reporters at the Chinese Grand Prix when asked about the April break. “Obviously, it means we have more time. We have some stuff that we want to bring, hopefully in the next few races, and it gives us time to prepare that. Also on the reliability side as well, for a lot of teams, to make sure we’re in a great position.”
For Lawson personally, the start to 2026 also looks very different from where he was a year ago. According to the source material, he opened 2025 with Red Bull, struggled through two rounds, and quickly returned to Racing Bulls. Now, after spending most of last season back with the Faenza team and being retained for 2026, he says the environment around him is much calmer.
“It’s pretty different to this time last year,” Lawson, Racing Bulls driver, said to media including RacingNews365. “Stability-wise, things are in a much better place at the moment. Everybody around me is a lot happier as well.”
That does not change his main point. Racing Bulls has started the year by collecting results, but Lawson’s view is that the points total flatters the car a little. The encouraging part for the team is that it has already been effective without, in his words, being that fast.