Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Racing Bulls opened the Belgian Grand Prix weekend with both cars in the top 10 at Spa-Francorchamps, but after debuting a significant upgrade package the team says its next step is clear: unlock more performance from the soft tyre before qualifying.
Liam Lawson finished Friday ninth in 1:47.294 after 44 laps, with Arvid Lindblad 10th after 40 laps and just 0.04s behind his teammate. The headline result backed up the first appearance of a broader update package that Racing Bulls introduced across both cars.
Alan Permane, Racing Bulls team director, said the team brought “a decent upgrade package on both cars,” including “a revised rear wing, front brake drum and a redesigned engine cover.” Lindblad also ran an extra cooling package that, Permane said, “is looking strong too.”
The more important takeaway from Friday, though, was where the package still falls short. “The car is working extremely well on the Medium tyre, but not quite so well on the Soft,” Permane said. “Our focus tonight will be to extract more pace on the Soft tyre ahead of Qualifying tomorrow afternoon.” He added that the team had “collected plenty of data” to analyze before FP3.
That issue matters because the car's one-lap potential remains the difference between a promising Friday and a genuine shot at Q3. Lindblad said Racing Bulls had “a car with a strong baseline,” but admitted, “The main focus will be on extracting a bit more performance on the Soft tyre. I wasn't able to make as much of a step as I would've liked today.”
He still believes the underlying pace is there. “We have a competitive package, and if we put everything together, we should be fighting for Q3 and points for the rest of the weekend,” Lindblad said.
Lawson pointed to another area demanding attention at Spa, saying the circuit “feels quite different this year compared to previous years,” which pushed the team to focus on “understanding the best way to manage our battery and energy deployment.” He said Racing Bulls would work on that overnight as it tries to refine a car that has already shown enough pace to put qualifying and points firmly in reach.