Liam Lawson confirmed that Racing Bulls is making \u201cbig gains\u201d in the Barcelona shakedown. The caveat, though, is that so are its rivals.<\/p>\n
Alas, Lawson<\/a> believes that the true pecking order will remain \u201cunknown\u201d for quite some time, so the fact that Racing Bulls is making progress with their VCARB 03 is a positive sign at this early stage of the new F1 2026 regulations.<\/p>\n Liam Lawson confirms \u2018big gains\u2019 amid F1 2026 order uncertainty<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Lawson put 88 laps on the board on Day 1 of the Barcelona closed-doors shakedown. New rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad pumped in 120 on Day 3, while on Racing Bulls\u2019 third and final permitted day of running, Lawson signed off with another 64 unofficial laps completed in the morning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just keep learning. We\u2019re making, obviously, big gains, but so is everybody else,\u201d Lawson told the Formula 1 website.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, yeah, very, very different cars, but in a much better place than we were on Monday, which is the main thing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just need to keep learning and improving the car.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of mileage, yes, we\u2019ve obviously had a pretty strong test in terms of reliability. So that\u2019s been a box ticked in terms of expectations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very hard. Obviously, we don\u2019t know where anybody else is. That\u2019ll still be quite unknown for a while.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the main thing is, we\u2019re getting the laps down that we want to and learning what we need to about our car.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked for the team\u2019s plans going forward, with two official tests to come in Bahrain, Lawson added: \u201cHonestly, just to keep learning. It\u2019s so early days at the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to go to Bahrain on a very different track, with a very different climate as well. So it\u2019s going to be very, very different.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be great for us to learn how the car performs in very different places, different tracks.<\/p>\n \u201cBut yeah, outside of that, honestly, the main goal is to just try and keep learning and improving the car and discovering what we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n Latest Barcelona test updates from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Lando Norris reveals the key performance change driving F1 2026 cars<\/a><\/p>\n Mercedes\u2019 ominous mileage claim as W17 runs \u2018faultlessly\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Lawson finds himself as the experienced head at Red Bull\u2019s junior F1 team in 2026. He lines-up alongside British teenager Arvid Lindblad, who makes the step up from Formula 2.<\/p>\n The Lawson and Lindblad pairing has taken its initial steps in the Barcelona shakedown.<\/p>\n \u201cSo far it\u2019s been good,\u201d said Lawson of his Lindblad alliance.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, a very different year to come into Formula 1 with these cars.<\/p>\n \u201cSo obviously for us, it\u2019s important to communicate well and work together on trying to basically build this car into as quick as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, so far, it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n