Racing Bulls had to intervene at times to control the battles between Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, and Alan Permane, the team principal, revealed that the two have already been reprimanded when the on-track battles went too far.
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Lawson is in his second full season in Formula 1, while Lindblad has been standing out in his debut year. The duo has helped Racing Bulls reach fifth place in the constructors’ championship so far this year, nine points ahead of Alpine in the fight for the midfield pack.
According to Permane, the drivers have formed a positive partnership, although some situations have required firmer intervention from the team: “They have been very good. And it’s a good problem to have,” he said.
The manager explained that there are circumstances in which the team does not want the two to keep fighting, especially when the tires are in a critical state, in the final phase of the race, or when the points are already secured: “There have been moments when it went a bit too far, and I sit them down, give them a talking to, and say there are times when we don’t want the battle,” added Permane.
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Despite these episodes, Racing Bulls maintains the freedom for its drivers to fight for positions among themselves. The main requirement is to avoid any contact between the cars: “Generally, I’m happy for them to race each other, with the only rule being that they can’t touch each other. And so far, that has worked,” concluded Permane.
In the last three GPs, there has been a change in the Racing Bulls duo, with Yuki Tsunoda taking Lawson’s place, who in turn is replacing the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull Racing. It is not yet confirmed how long these substitutions will continue this year, as Red Bull does not want to rush, so Hadjar can fully recover from his wrist fracture.
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