Formula 1 newcomer Arvid Lindblad went off when shaking down Racing Bulls’ 2026 car in Imola on Tuesday.
Racing Bulls opted to give its VCARB 03 a maiden run at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, less than 15km away from the team’s Faenza factory.
Responding to F1’s new chassis and engine regulations, the Red Bull Ford-powered machinery was sporting the livery unveiled in Detroit on 15 January and was equipped with full-wet demonstration tyres amid continuous rain.
Only three laps were allowed for such a ‘Demonstration event’, which is limited to 15km with current cars.
A few teething problems occurred in the morning, but Liam Lawson took to the track at 12:26pm under his rookie team-mate’s watchful eye, completing an installation lap.
The car appeared very similar to what was seen on the livery renders. The trapezoidal airbox stands out, as does the nose, which dives very close to the front wing’s main plane. The sidepod inlets are extremely narrow – a solution that was seen on all cars that have run so far. A pushrod layout is used for both front and rear suspensions and will remain for the Barcelona test from 26-30 January.
Racing Bulls VCARB 03
Photo by: Jacopo Rava
Lindblad took over later on but lost control of the car in the Villeneuve chicane, ending up in the gravel. The car likely did not suffer much damage and was recovered by a truck.
As Racing Bulls has not completed all three laps yet, it can theoretically return to the track later today before a 200km ‘Promotional Event’ – i.e. a filming day – on Wednesday.
Again fitted with demonstration rubber, the VCARB 03 will cover a maximum of 40 laps at Imola, with its drivers thus gaining experience ahead of the Catalan running.
Additional reporting by Davide Cavazza and Jacopo Rava
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