Racing Bulls immediately hit problems with Red Bull’s 2026 engine at Liam Lawson’s Imola shakedown

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Liam Lawson made history during Racing Bulls’ shakedown of their 2026 challenger at Imola this Tuesday, as he completed the first laps in an F1 car using a Red Bull engine.

Red Bull Racing have stepped into a new era this year, as they have now become power unit manufacturers for the first time. Red Bull Powertrains, in partnership with Ford, will produce the power units that Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls will use in the upcoming 2026 season.

Christian Horner established Red Bull Powertrains ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations whilst in charge of the team due to Honda’s initial decision to withdraw from F1. Honda later pulled a U-turn due to the 2026 regulations, and agreed to an exclusive engine deal for Aston Martin.

F1 has introduced the biggest overhaul of the rulebook to date in 2026, with the new engine rules at the heart of the regulations. F1 has increased the power split between electrical and combustion from 20/80 to 50/50, removed the MGU-H and moved to fully sustainable fuels.

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Racing Bulls had trouble starting Red Bull’s 2026 F1 regulations engine

There have been claims that Red Bull found a loophole in F1’s 2026 engine rules, which may be worth up to four tenths of a second a lap by increasing the combustion rate from 16:1 to 18:1 during operation. There are also concerns about the reliability of Red Bull’s first engine.

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

And Racing Bulls immediately hit problems with Red Bull’s 2026 F1 regulations engine amid their shakedown with Lawson at Imola. According to Motorsport.com, Racing Bulls’ faced a delayed start to the track action as they had ‘some start-up problems’ with the RBPT DMO1.

Racing Bulls hired Imola for the day to put the VCARB 03 through its initial paces ahead of a filming day at the now-former home of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Wednesday. The session eventually started at 12:26 in Italy, with Lawson completing three installation laps.

Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad will lap Racing Bulls’ 2026 car at Imola on Wednesday

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F1’s rules allow teams to complete up to 15km during a shakedown, which Racing Bulls used to check their systems ahead of holding a filming day where they can complete up to 200km of on-track action. Teams must use Pirelli’s demonstration tyres during either of the events.

Lawson got to grips with the Racing Bulls VCARB 03 at Imola this Tuesday, from which spy images offered fans their first real look at what the team’s 2026 car looks like. Many F1 fans and Karun Chandhok immediately noticed the “massive” size of Racing Bulls’ air intake, too.

Rookie Arvid Lindblad was also in attendance at Imola on Tuesday as Lawson got behind the wheel of the VCARB 03. Both Racing Bulls drivers will get to lap their new challenger around Imola on Wednesday, as they get ready for the official pre-season shakedown in Barcelona.