Liam Lawson now sees an ‘opportunity’ to do something in F1 that he’s never been able to

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Liam Lawson has opened up on his “hope” for the start of the 2026 F1 regulations era after taking the cover off Racing Bulls’ new VCARB 03 at their launch event in Detroit.

Racing Bulls joined Red Bull in the home city of their engine partner, Ford, on Thursday night for a joint season launch. Red Bull secured a technical partnership with Ford in 2023, as they sought the US giant’s help building their first in-house engine under the 2026 F1 regulations.

Lawson expects a very different experience in 2026 after driving Racing Bulls’ VCARB 03 in the simulator as he prepares for the new regulations. F1 has overhauled its rulebook, as the new power unit regulations necessitated broader changes including new aerodynamic rules.

Formula 1 has increased the electrical power output from the previous 20/80 split in favour of the internal combustion engine to a 50/50 split. The engine constructors have also had to build power units that run on 100% sustainable fuels, and the expensive MGU-H is no more.

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Liam Lawson hopes to have an ‘opportunity’ to influence Racing Bulls’ car development

Lawson expects energy management will be “extremely important” owing to the increase in electrical power with the 2026 regulations. The new aero and chassis regulations also afford the 23-year-old an opportunity to have a greater say in how Racing Bulls develop their car.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2026 F1 engine and aero regulations

Having contested his only full campaign on the F1 grid so far in 2025 when Racing Bulls were already starting to focus on their package for 2026, Lawson has rarely been able to influence the team’s development path. So, he now hopes to take on a greater role in Faenza this year.

“It’s an opportunity,” Lawson said, via quotes by Nextgen-Auto. “When there’s a change in regulations like this, it creates a window for drivers to do a little more, or have this chance to participate in the development of the car.

“I arrived in F1 at the end of an era, when the cars were fully developed and evolved very little. You drive what the car already is, without much room for further adjustments. But now, it will be much more open.

“I hope this will be an opportunity to help with this development and also to progress on my own technical side. It will be very interesting not to just talk about wing settings, suspension or differential, to caricature a little.”

Racing Bulls will need Liam Lawson’s experience to develop their 2026 F1 car

Lawson earned his F1 debut with Racing Bulls, while they still operated as AlphaTauri, in the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix as an injury stand-in for Daniel Ricciardo. His reserve driver status in 2023 also ensured he could not influence how the Faenza team sought to develop the AT04.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Replacing Ricciardo for the final six rounds of the 2024 season also meant Lawson had little influence in the development of the VCARB 01. And by the time he returned to Racing Bulls in March 2025 after starting the year at Red Bull, they had started working on their 2026 car.

Lawson has only driven Racing Bulls’ 2026 rules car in the simulator, with pre-season testing set to start behind closed doors in Barcelona on January 26-30. It will then be an arms race between the 11 teams to develop their packages in the infancy of the 2026 F1 regulations.

Red Bull believe early-season aero upgrades will be huge in 2026, with teams having to get on top of the new active aerodynamic devices on front and rear wings. Teams also need to understand how their new chassis shape up, as F1 cars will be smaller and lighter in 2026.

Racing Bulls will need to lean on Lawson’s experience in 2026 as they strive to develop the VCARB 03. He will be the leader in Faenza this year, with 35 Grand Prix starts under his belt, as Red Bull have placed 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad at Racing Bulls for his rookie F1 season.