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Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson can finally look forward to an uninterrupted Formula 1 pre-season where his immediate future on the grid isn’t being discussed.
After a stop-start debut in 2023, replacing Daniel Ricciardo in 2024 only to be prematurely promoted to Red Bull for the 2025 season, Liam Lawson will hope that 2026 gives him the stability he needs to start forging a career in Formula 1.
Alongside this year’s only rookie, Arvid Lindblad, Lawson will be hoping that the latest Racing Bulls car is competitive enough for him to improve on his haul of 38 points last year.
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Lawson has been hailed for his work behind-the-scenes going into 2026, and every driver is well aware of how much change is needed in their driving styles with brand new cars arriving on the grid due to the upcoming regulation changes.
Many people would believe that spending as much time in the simulator as possible would be vital to getting a head start ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
However, Lawson has now revealed that he’s spent very little time in the sim, emulating Max Verstappen’s claim that he’s not used the simulator as much as a lot of people might expect.
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Liam Lawson describes how the 2026 Racing Bulls F1 car has felt during limited sim work
Lawson was asked on the Nailing the Apex Podcast about how much work he’s done in the simulator during the off-season.
He said: “Not a huge amount. We definitely started the development already, last year.
“So I’ve had a taste of the simulator side of things, but honestly, normally we would do a race weekend. We’ll go back to the simulator and correlate and basically try to match up the car to the sim as closely as we can.
“We haven’t driven the car on track yet. So, we have obviously our simulations, but I’m sure it’s going to be different to drive on track for the first time.”
Lawson was then asked what the simulation work he had done felt like, and he continued: “It’s different. Yeah, it’s really different. We’ll find out on track, honestly.
“I think there’s potential for a bit more of the sort of power unit, battery management that we can probably be a little bit more in control of, which is good.
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“It potentially gives us more of an opportunity to try and change things in the car, and maybe that’s going to be great for us.
“But it’s going to be very, very different, and obviously, then the competitiveness with other teams, that’s going to be the biggest question mark.
“Already, so far, there’s a lot that we can potentially do behind the wheel that will, I guess, change the way things happen, and there’s probably some opportunity there for us.”
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Liam Lawson set for private test before pre-season running in Barcelona begins
For the first time in years, all 11 Formula 1 teams will be allowed more than just three days of pre-season testing before the campaign begins.
The rule changes warrant additional days on track, with reliability likely to be a key issue, both in terms of the new power units and the various parts on the car.
Lawson is set to take part in a filming day before heading to Barcelona, which could be the first time the new Red Bull Powertrains power unit is used on track.
Ferrari have been given positive signs by Cadillac on their 2026 engine, while Audi have also already graced the Barcelona circuit with their first F1 car.
It’s impossible to know at this stage where Racing Bulls and Lawson will fit into the pecking order, but the New Zealander isn’t rushing to spend countless hours in the simulator before he drives the real car for the first time.
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