Liam Lawson has scoffed at Toto Wolff\u2019s claim that the Red Bull Powertrains engine has \u201ca second a lap\u201d on its rivals.<\/p>\n
As a new era begins in Formula 1, with new cars and engines, Red Bull has taken on the challenge of designing its own engine for the first time in the team\u2019s history. The PU will also power its sister team, Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n
Liam Lawson: \u201cWe\u2019ll find out pretty soon\u201d<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n And according to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, the RBPT engine is the one to beat.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I was hoping that they were worse than they are,\u201d the Mercedes team principal told assembled media, including PlanetF1.com, in Bahrain on Wednesday. \u201cThey\u2019ve done a very good job.<\/p>\n \u201cThe car, the power unit are the benchmark at the moment, I would say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook at their energy deployment today,\u201d he added. \u201cThey are able to deploy far more energy on the straights than everybody else.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, we are speaking a second a lap<\/a> over consecutive laps.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawson<\/a> was asked about that in Bahrain, the New Zealander all but scoffing at Wolff\u2019s claim amidst some laughter.<\/p>\n He, though, didn\u2019t deny that it could be a possibility.<\/p>\n More on Formula 1\u2019s engine controversy<\/p>\n Opinion: Formula 1 is undermining innovation with 2026 engine politics<\/a><\/p>\n Mercedes F1 2026 compression ratio debate nears boiling point ahead of homologation<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOne second faster than everybody? Who said that?\u201d he told the media, including PlanetF1.com, in Bahrain.<\/p>\n With a laugh, he continued: \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cWe\u2019ll find out, obviously.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, honestly the power units working very, very well. Which is good.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in terms of performance numbers, it is so hard to tell, because we have no idea what anybody else is doing.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, I think on the performance side, we definitely think it\u2019s strong. I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s one second faster than everybody.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019ll find out pretty soon. So yeah, all okay so far.\u201d<\/p>\n Watching the cars on track throughout the Bahrain test, PlanetF1.com editor Mat Coch noted they seemed far more nervous, harder to brake and were getting away from the drivers under acceleration.<\/p>\n He put that to Lawson.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, it\u2019s pretty tough to drive,\u201d replied the Kiwi. \u201cEspecially here we have a lot of tyre deg so there\u2019s a lot more sliding going on this year, and it is quite tricky to drive.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, at the moment, I would say there\u2019s a lot learning at the moment trying to optimise driving this car between short runs and qualifying with the battery management and the long runs as well. It\u2019s a learning curve.\u201d<\/p>\n He later added: \u201cThe loss of downforce is probably the main one. Yes, you\u2019re a lot busier, but that stuff, again, as we spend more time driving, it will start to come naturally. Right now, it\u2019s mainly just the downforce that\u2019s making it harder to drive.<\/p>\n \u201cI think naturally when you\u2019re sliding in the corner as well you\u2019re going to have, you\u2019re going to have more tyre deg as well.\u201d<\/p>\n However, tyre deg isn\u2019t the only issue facing the drivers with this year\u2019s cars and their power units. Race starts could also be more tricky.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more difficult, definitely, to get off the line than last year. But again, it\u2019s something that I\u2019m sure, as we progress through the season, will be figuring out things to help that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cComparing to a five-year-developed car versus a brand new car is always going to be things that are new and different. So yeah, I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll learn and get better.\u201d<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch<\/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