Photo: Race Pictures

Liam Lawson highlights biggest 2026 F1 challenge after Red Bull and Racing Bulls launch

11:31, 16 Jan

Updated: 12:25, 16 Jan

byOlly Darcy

With brand new regulations coming to Formula 1, Liam Lawson gave his thoughts on what may be the biggest challenge ahead of the 2026 season.

"It's going to be a lot different to drive, so there's potential for us to have a lot more control over how much power we use and stuff like that."

- Liam Lawson

The New Zealander was in Detroit, Michigan for the unveiling of his Racing Bulls machine for the new campaign, with Red Bull also revealing its challenger alongside the Italian team.

With a brand new Red Bull Ford engine powering the Racing Bulls machine in 2026, some blue accents were added to the white colour scheme to showcase the partnership with the American car giant.

With the major overhaul in regulations, Red Bull and Racing Bulls were the first teams to unveil their designs for the 2026 season, and Lawson explained what challenges may lie ahead for drivers.

Liam Lawson and new teammate Arvid Lindblad in Detroit -Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

"I think the energy management is going to be the biggest difference with the new engines in 2026," the 23-year-old responded to GPblog at the launch event in Detroit.

"It's going to be a lot different to drive, so there's potential for us to have a lot more control over how much power we use and stuff like that.

"Maybe it's something that will be a little bit more in our control, but that's going to be the biggest question mark, the power unit."

All eyes towards winter testing

With the 2026 Racing Bulls machine now revealed to the world, focus will now be trained towards the shakedown week that will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya between January 26 and January 30, with Lawson stressing the importance of these private sessions.

"It's massively important. We need to obviously make the most of those days," the New Zealander continued.

"Then, basically, we go into that week off with as much knowledge as we can, because we'll basically be basing all of our setup work off that first test in Barcelona.

"We'll be going from very different climates, though, going from Barcelona to Bahrain. But that's going to be really, really important for us."

Poll

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