Liam Lawson, at Suzuka, opened up on the \u201cextremely\u201d difficult challenge of re-wiring the brain to perform a good qualifying lap in F1 2026.<\/p>\n
Lawson<\/a> spoke of \u201cmore processing, and more rules to follow\u201d in qualifying this year, with battery management playing a critical role in success. Qualifying is one of the areas to have been tweaked ahead of F1 2026 returning to action in Miami.<\/p>\n Liam Lawson details F1 2026 qualifying mental challenge<\/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 While qualifying previously was about drivers being on the ragged edge, pushing flat out for the last drops of performance and lap time, the method of constructing that ideal lap shifted in F1 2026.<\/p>\n Now, there is battery deployment and recharge in play.<\/p>\n With three race weekends running the new regulations in the books, various alterations were confirmed for Miami<\/a>.<\/p>\n Qualifying is a key area of focus.<\/p>\n The maximum recharge for a qualifying lap has been reduced from 8MJ to 7MJ, in a bid to encourage more consistent flat-out driving.<\/p>\n Super clipping will also increase from a 250kW peak, to 350kW, in a further move to showcase performance in this new version of qualifying.<\/p>\n At Suzuka, it was put to Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson that qualifying was a different challenge around this circuit in F1 2026.<\/p>\n Lawson confirmed: \u201cIt is, unfortunately.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just more processing, and more rules to follow when you\u2019re in qualifying than previously, when you were just flat out trying to extract everything out of the car.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you actually find time, and you feel like you\u2019re on the limit, and then you come in, and actually you\u2019ve spent more energy by doing that in the corners.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Liam Lawson from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Liam Lawson puts safety first as FIA confirms Miami qualifying rule tweaks<\/a><\/p>\n Racing Bulls chief tells Liam Lawson what to work on in \u2018fantastic step\u2019 assessment<\/a><\/p>\n These rule tweaks are designed to put the emphasis back on performance in qualifying, a discipline which has naturally gained new layers of strategy under this formula.<\/p>\n Having made reference to this, Lawson was asked how hard it is to rewire the brain to consider best practices with energy usage in qualifying.<\/p>\n \u201cExtremely,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause, obviously in qualifying, you\u2019re trying to go as fast as you can.<\/p>\n \u201cSo just trusting, sometimes, that the methods that we have, you have to follow them, sometimes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019re still learning.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawson has scored 10 points thus far in F1 2026. Combined with teammate Arvid Lindblad\u2019s four, it places Racing Bulls seventh in the early Constructors\u2019 standings<\/a>.<\/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