While much of the focus has been on the top four teams, Racing Bulls have been making quiet progress to become one of the strongest and most consistent midfield outfits \u2013 so why are their performances still going under the radar?<\/p>\n
Liam Lawson<\/a> and Arvid Lindblad<\/a> secured their third consecutive double points finish at the Austrian Grand Prix<\/a>, consolidating their current spot of sixth in the standings<\/a> and simultaneously reducing their deficit to Alpine<\/a> to 13 points.<\/p>\n When the likes of Mercedes<\/a>, Ferrari<\/a>, McLaren<\/a> and Red Bull<\/a> are dominating the headlines, it\u2019s easy to look past those who aren\u2019t challenging for race wins, but here\u2019s why Racing Bulls<\/a> deserve a little more attention\u2026<\/p>\n Lawson\u2019s redemption continues<\/p>\n The New Zealander has had a somewhat fractured F1 career which can be summarised by the fact that this is only his second full season in the sport, and his first with a single team after Red Bull demoted him to their sister squad after just two rounds in 2025.<\/p>\n Lawson has quickly settled into his role as leader and accumulated 30 points so far, kicking off his scoring with a pair of P7s in the Sprint and Grand Prix in China before suffering a weekend to forget in Miami. An incident with midfield rival Pierre Gasly<\/a> ruled him out of the race, marking one of the two rounds in which he has failed to score.<\/p>\n Another seventh place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was followed by the 24-year-old matching his career-best result of P6 in Monaco, where he praised Racing Bulls<\/a> for their \u201cbig turnaround\u201d. He did admit that \u201cjust surviving is giving us points\u201d, but one of the team\u2019s greatest strengths has been capitalising on every opportunity to score.<\/p>\n He\u2019s now on a run of four Grands Prix in the top 10 and hasn\u2019t shown any sign of letting up, even though it\u2019s rarely an easy ask. From a gearbox failure in Miami to a hydraulic issue in Canada, Lawson has endured his fair share of obstacles en route to P10 in the standings \u2013 most recently, he reported<\/a> he \u201ccouldn\u2019t really breathe for a good few laps\u201d at the beginning of the Austrian Grand Prix due to smoke in the car, but it didn\u2019t stop him from finishing ninth.<\/p>\n Reflecting on Racing Bulls\u2019 performance at the Red Bull Ring, he gave the understated response: \u201cIt\u2019s good. Honestly, the car\u2019s been good all weekend. Compared to last week as well, we\u2019ve definitely made a step in long run pace, so I\u2019m very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n How lone rookie Lindblad has made his mark<\/p>\n As this season\u2019s sole rookie driver, the only benchmark that Formula 2 graduate Lindblad can compare himself to is his 21 rivals that all have more experience than him.<\/p>\n But the challenge seems to have done the opposite of intimidating the teenager, who demonstrated exactly why he earned a full-time seat by claiming four points on his debut at the Australian Grand Prix \u2013 a \u201cpretty nuts\u201d<\/a> result by all accounts.<\/p>\n The next few rounds, all held at circuits Lindblad had never raced before, exposed his rookie status as spins and a lack of pace saw him go without a top-10 finish until the Canada Sprint. After placing P8, he qualified a respectable P9 for the main event before a gear problem ruled him out of the Grand Prix, in which he believed he \u201cwould\u2019ve been fighting for P6 or P7 on merit\u201d.<\/p>\n Since that setback, he\u2019s enjoyed a fantastic upwards trajectory and secured his highest finish of the season in Monaco, just like his team mate. That P7 boost coincided with Lindblad beginning to feel more comfortable in the car, which was made obvious again as he secured P9 and P10 in Barcelona and Austria respectively.<\/p>\n