The 2026 Formula 1 season brought a new challenge for Liam Lawson. The driver identified a growing difficulty in the Racing Bulls car after the latest updates.
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According to Lawson, the balance between extracting performance and managing battery usage has become a decisive factor, especially in qualifying laps. This type of problem was more common in top teams but has also started to appear in Racing Bulls’ performance.
“The main thing is that there is a big difference and a balance between how much performance you extract in corners and throttle usage,” he stated. He emphasized that the difficulty increases when trying to reconcile maximum performance with energy management throughout the lap.
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The driver also pointed out a curious effect of this situation: “Often you are faster in the corners, but you end up being slower on the lap because you used more battery, and finding that balance is quite difficult,” he said, highlighting the direct impact on performance.
Despite this, Lawson acknowledged that the problem is still less intense than in the more competitive teams, which have greater downforce. However, he emphasized that, with the car’s evolution, Racing Bulls has started to face this challenge more frequently, especially after the updates introduced in the Japan race.
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