Racing Bulls Team<\/a>) had a decent upgrade planned for Bahrain, which we\u2019ll now take to Miami, and another planned for Montreal, so we\u2019ll effectively have a quick double upgrade. We\u2019ll introduce one and then replace it straight away, as we can\u2019t bring everything at once or move the Montreal upgrade forward.<\/p>\nWith freight back from Japan, we\u2019ve also taken the opportunity to carry out some unplanned work on the chassis \u2013 work that wasn\u2019t scheduled until the end of this flyaway sequence. Some areas of the business have been working harder than expected, so we\u2019ve encouraged the race team to take some time off.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re using this period to build up the cars so the design office can see them fully assembled. The cars are hardly ever here during the season, so it\u2019s a good chance to complete work we couldn\u2019t do before. If one or both of the cancelled races are reinstated, we\u2019re expecting a busy end to the year, so we want to make sure everyone can take rest where possible too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflections on the start of the season so far<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we did a good job, I\u2019m not often one to self-praise, but we performed well in Shanghai. We managed to score points in both the sprint and the main race, even though we weren\u2019t really quick enough. It was similar in Suzuka, but we\u2019ve been able to extract the maximum from the car to bring home points.<\/p>\n
We are paying the price against the teams we\u2019re racing who developed their cars last season, whereas we developed ours towards the end of the year, so we\u2019re a little on the back foot. However, the upgrades we\u2019re bringing should hopefully move us closer to the top of the midfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
The introduction of the RBFPT Power Unit<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PU works very well, and with every lap we complete, we learn more. Each time we run the car, we gather valuable data. One advantage we have is that we have powertrain engineers embedded within our engineering office, which allows us to work closely with them and better understand both them and how they operate.<\/p>\n
This break gives us the opportunity to take a step back and review what we\u2019ve done so far. There will likely be some changes in how we operate the PU for Miami and beyond. We\u2019re using this period to work closely together to extract the maximum performance from both the PU and the chassis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regulations conversations<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not an easy one. We have to listen to the drivers, there are two groups of fans, some who love the new racing and some who don\u2019t. Watching it live is quite exciting, but we need to work as a team to find the right balance.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of work going on, and we have several meetings over the next few weeks to decide which package of tweaks we\u2019ll take through to Miami. The two main focuses are making qualifying more flat-out and driver-focused rather than PU-focused, and also reviewing previous incidents to see how we can reduce closing speeds. Although we need to be careful not to reduce the spectacle. There are measures that could be taken to reduce closing speeds, but that would likely impact overtaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam and Arvid\u2019s team dynamic<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are working together very well. I was very clear with them in the off-season that they would both benefit from driving alongside each other, supporting rather than taking away from one another. It\u2019s not about fighting each other, but about communicating and learning from each other. They\u2019re collaborating well.<\/p>\n
There are differences between the drivers, but it\u2019s still early to say with Arvid, so it\u2019s hard to compare his approach directly with Liam\u2019s, but they are very close in terms of speed. Liam was unfortunate in Japan with a front wing issue, without that, he would have been up there, and both drivers would likely have been in similar positions.<\/p>\n
They both came through the same Red Bull Junior Programme, and last year we also worked with Arvid on some TPC running. We\u2019re proud of the fact that we can get the best out of them, and coming from the same programme, they tend to work in a similar way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam Lawson & Arvid Lindblad \u2013 VCARB Drivers
\nMaximising the April break<\/p>\n
Liam \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s been good. I was in New Zealand for over a week as I had to get a new passport sorted. I\u2019ve been able to spend a lot of time with my family, who I don\u2019t get to see that often, and I rode my dirt bike quite a bit. I\u2019m using this time to prepare for Miami, with a lot of simulator work planned and time at Faenza to spend with the team at the factory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arvid \u2013 \u201cThis has been an unexpected break, so I\u2019ve been maximising the time off and trying to learn as much as I can from the first couple of races and take away the key learnings. I\u2019ve also been doing some training alongside sim sessions. The first few races weren\u2019t too warm, but now that it\u2019s going to start getting hotter, I\u2019m making sure I\u2019m well prepared for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the start to 2026<\/p>\n
Liam \u2013 \u201cPre-season was good, and we arrived in Melbourne quite strong, stronger than in the other two races. We\u2019ve maximised what we could from the speed we have, and the team has done a really good job. Going forward, the goal is to find more performance in the car, and once we do that, we\u2019ll be in a strong position. We\u2019ve been able to score in every race this year, which gives us a good platform to keep building.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arvid \u2013 \u201cIn terms of expectations, I didn\u2019t set too many, I\u2019ve just been focused on learning. I\u2019m really happy with how the first few races have gone and of course I\u2019m always working on improving. The team has done a good job on the operational side, and we\u2019ve executed the basics well, which has helped us score points as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tight midfield battle<\/p>\n
Liam \u2013 \u201cThis year, there\u2019s quite a big difference between the balance you can extract performance wise through corners \u2013 on throttle especially in Qualifying compared to how much battery you\u2019re using. That\u2019s probably been the biggest challenge for us as drivers to get used to. In our case, it\u2019s been less of a factor compared to the top teams, but as we become more competitive, we\u2019ll start to feel it more, as I did in Japan. Our power unit has been very strong, particularly for a first-season PU. We\u2019ve been maximising what we can from the car, but once we find more raw speed and downforce, we\u2019ll be in a much stronger position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arvid \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s still very early to say, because everything is changing week by week. That makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly where we\u2019ve been strong or have areas for development. Everything is evolving, and the midfield is incredibly tight. The engine has been strong, but there are still areas where we can improve. In Melbourne, it worked very well, but some other teams may have already taken a step forward. There are a few areas we need to develop, but that\u2019s to be expected with these new cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new regulations<\/p>\n
Liam \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s been a very different start to the season, the cars are very different, and we\u2019re still trying to get our heads around them. We\u2019re all in the same boat, so it\u2019s about working together to find solutions that work for everyone. So far, we\u2019ve done a good job of extracting performance from the car, and we have some exciting upgrades to look forward to.<\/p>\n
From a regulations point of view, the biggest priority is safety which everyone is in agreement on, especially after what we saw in Japan. We want to avoid situations like that going forward. On the performance side, things will always evolve and we\u2019ll get faster over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team dynamic<\/p>\n
Liam \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s been seamless and very smooth. A lot of it comes down to us this year with the new cars, how we work together and communicate with the team is very important, so it\u2019s nice to be doing that with someone I\u2019ve known for a long time. Arvid has done a great job coming in as a rookie and performing the way he has.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arvid \u2013 \u201cWe\u2019ve known each other since the early days of the programme, which definitely helps. It\u2019s been fun, we get on well, and there are really good vibes in the team. I\u2019ve enjoyed sharing the garage together. We\u2019ve gelled well, and together we\u2019re helping push the team forward. Being able to discuss things openly and give clear feedback to the team makes a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead<\/p>\n
Liam \u2013 \u201cThe main focus for us, and for the rest of the teams, is development. We\u2019re going to see some big upgrades coming, especially this year, with development happening on shorter timelines. We\u2019ll be using the simulator to optimise these upgrades as much as possible. Reliability has been very strong, and from a strategy point of view we\u2019ve also done a great job. Overall, it\u2019s been a positive start, so we will keep pushing in that direction\u201d<\/p>\n
Arvid \u2013 \u201cThe big thing for all of us will be the changes in Miami and being able to adapt to them. For me, it\u2019s about continuing to learn and improve. I\u2019m excited to see what the next few races have in store.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alan Permane \u2013 Team Principal of Racing Bulls Team Priorities during the break \u201cWe\u2019ve got a few things…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-607206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-formula-1","12":"tag-formula1","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}