uncertainty and apprehension<\/a> for pundits, team management and drivers alike because of major changes to car specifications.<\/p>\nSeveral top drivers emerged unimpressed with the alterations, which include smaller, lighter chassis and new power units which comprise a 50-50 split between combustion and beefed-up batteries. There is also the introduction of 100 percent sustainable fuels.<\/p>\n
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was disparaging, the Dutch Red Bull great describing the changes as “anti-racing” and as like “Formula E on steroids” during pre-season testing.<\/p>\n
![\"Liam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4JSAZOW_AFP__20260213__DPPI_00126002_2160__v1__HighRes__F1PreSeasonTesting2026Bahrain1_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nLiam Lawson
\nPhoto: AFP\n<\/p>\n
Lawson was less outspoken but admitted battery management in particular was playing on his mind after some mixed testing results for Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n
“It’s very different from last year, much more sensitive, particularly when it comes to preparing the battery for a qualifying lap and managing over a longer stint,” he said.<\/p>\n
“On top of that, the cars have significantly less aero, which makes them more difficult to drive and less forgiving overall.<\/p>\n
“We became aware of the new regulations early last year and began preparing straight away. So by the time I first drove the new car, I had a solid understanding of what to expect and the key differences between the 2025 and 2026 cars.<\/p>\n
“Some weren’t a surprise, but when you get in the car, you are definitely still learning how to optimise.”<\/p>\n
Racing Bulls chose to retain Lawson’s services after last year’s roller-coaster campaign in which he racked up seven top-10 finishes from 24 races – the first two rounds having been behind the wheel for Red Bull before he was unceremoniously demoted to the sister team.<\/p>\n
![\"Liam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4KAGD95_SAD_jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nLiam Lawson of Red Bull Racing. 2025.
\nPhoto: PHOTOSPORT\n<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old finished 14th overall, with a best placing of fifth coming in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n
Lawson has been paired with 18-year-old British rookie Arvin Lindblad at Racing Bulls, making theirs the least experienced driver lineup on the 11-team grid.<\/p>\n
The Kiwi said it was hard to set goals for the season, given the uncertainty around car performance.<\/p>\n
“It’s still difficult to say where we stand, as we don’t yet have a clear picture of our true pace,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Of course, the objective is to score points, but on a personal level, my focus is on extracting the maximum from myself and delivering the best possible performance every time I’m in the car.”<\/p>\n
There are two practice sessions on Friday, followed by a third on Saturday and qualifying.<\/p>\n
Sunday’s race is scheduled to start at 5pm NZT.<\/p>\n
Sign up for Ng\u0101 Pitopito K\u014drero<\/a>, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liam Lawson. Photo: AFP New Zealand driver Liam Lawson says he’s still coming to grips with a “sensitive”…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[48,47,111,43,139,69,49,46,44,45,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-312961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-audio","9":"tag-current-affairs","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-podcasts","15":"tag-public-radio","16":"tag-radio-new-zealand","17":"tag-rnz","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Liam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4JSAZVS_AFP__20260219__morgese_formula1260213_npb7K__v1__HighRes__Formula1TestingInBahrainDa_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n