Liam Lawson positively ‘surprised’ by Red Bull engine performance before 2026 F1 season

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Liam Lawson was ‘surprised’ by the new Red Bull-Ford powertrain that he tested ahead of the 2026 season.

The 2026 Formula 1 tests were an important time for the majority of the drivers and teams as they had to familiarise themselves with the new rules and regulations.

However, for Racing Bulls and Red Bull it was an even more important time as they debuted their new Red Bull-Ford Powertrain.

After using Honda power units previously it was a big step for Red Bull and Racing Bulls, but it appears to have been a positive start for the two teams.

What is Liam Lawson’s CEILING in Formula 1?

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Liam Lawson believes the Red Bull-Ford powertrain is ‘really good’

When asked about the reliability of the new power unit on the Mike Hosking Breakfast show, Liam Lawson revealed that he was ‘surprised’ by it.

The Kiwi driver believes that the engine is reliable, but does not want to pretend like there won’t be any reliability issues during the start of the season, as he believes a lot of teams will struggle with reliability woes in 2026.

Lawson said, “To be fair, we have surprised ourselves with our powertrain. The Red Bull Powertrain with Ford has been really good.

“But that is not to say it won’t be an issue, as I think with new engines there is going to be a reliability factor in there, which will be very important, especially at the start of the season.

“There will be a lot of teams struggling at the start of the season.”

Where does Lawson believe Racing Bulls are in the pecking order?

There have been many suggestions regarding the Formula 1 pecking order after the two weeks of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Lawson believes there is an obvious top four, which likely consists of Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and his former team Red Bull.

However, he believes they are in the next group behind those teams with Alpine, Williams and Haas.

Lawson said, “That is the really hard part, I honestly don’t. We have all these predictions that we sort of look at and try to calculate where other teams are, but it’s very difficult.

“The top four teams seem to have a bit of an edge over the field. In terms of what order they are in, it is really hard to know. Then for us, we are in the next group, and it is hard to guess where we are at.

“At the moment, I think we are in the next group.”