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Racing Bulls didn’t have the most straightforward start to testing in Bahrain last week.
Many people were praising Red Bull for the reliability of their new power unit, but Racing Bulls didn’t enjoy the same consistency further down the pit lane.
Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad showed that the VCARB 03 is going to be somewhere in the midfield at the start of the season.
However, neither driver was in the top half of the table of most laps completed in Bahrain due to reliability issues.
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Lawson has achieved some very impressive top speeds, but repetition is going to be the name of the game during races, with drivers who can’t harvest enough battery power each lap likely to get caught out by their rivals.
Ted Kravitz has been very positive about Racing Bulls so far, but there’s a new concern up and down the grid about race starts that could put any positive result achieved in qualifying in jeopardy.
Thankfully, it sounds like Racing Bulls might not be the worst-affected team by this new phenomenon.
READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know
How Red Bull’s power unit stacks up against its rivals during complicated new race start procedure
One of the biggest concerns about the start of this season is how the new engines will deal with the turbo lag during race starts, with the battery element of the power unit unable to assist the drivers in getting off the line.
A report from The Race has shared more details about how each of the different teams fared.
From the limited data available, Lawson’s Racing Bulls had the ‘shortest launch process’, lasting just six seconds, but it was described as ‘messy’, due to inconsistent revving of the ‘very distinctive’ Red Bull engine and resulting in a ‘slightly flat launch’.
Even if Lawson didn’t nail the getaway, only needing six seconds to prepare for all five lights to go out could stand him in good stead.
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What jumps out?
Oliver Bearman’s Haas revved for 11 seconds before starting, while Gabriel Bortoleto’s new Audi power unit needed 13.5 seconds.
Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac has the same Ferrari power unit as Bearman’s car and also took 11 seconds.
Much has been said about the Honda power unit, and Lance Stroll’s practice start had to be restarted before the ‘unrefined’-sounding engine got off the mark.
McLaren’s power unit sounded ‘extremely clean’ and only needed eight seconds of preparation, although all of these timings will be a concern to the FIA compared to previous generations of cars.
READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation
Oliver Bearman explains the complexity of Formula 1 race starts in 2026
Speaking to The Race about the procedure, Bearman said: “It’s a lot more complicated and a bit more inconsistent, that’s for sure.
“Now we have to spend a lot longer doing the wait phase prior to doing the actual start, and it’s really on a knife-edge to get it right.
“It’s really a matter of milliseconds; if you’re too late or too early by half a second, then it doesn’t work.
“So it’s complicated, and so far we haven’t been consistent at all with the practice starts, which is a bit worrying, but I think we start to understand why and as we understand the engine more, things will get easier.
“It’s not as easy as a throttle position equals a certain power from the engine. And then of course, you have the transition to MGU-K at a certain speed as well, which is proving challenging to implement properly.
“It’s tough for everyone, that’s for sure. You see everyone sitting on the grid for 20 seconds with their rpm all over the place, and it shows that we’re not the only ones struggling with that.”
Lawson will take every advantage he can get if Racing Bulls are going to be stuck in the midfield again this season.
Red Bull’s power unit has exceeded all expectations at this stage, but there are more question marks over how good the VCARB 03 chassis is.
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