Why Racing Bulls chose to keep ‘controversial’ active aero despite 2026 wet-weather setup risks

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Racing Bulls have gone under-the-radar during testing in Bahrain thus far, with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad quietly going about their business.

Arvid Lindblad will be the only rookie on the grid in 2026, while Liam Lawson will want to build on the strong form he showed at the end of last season.

There were some early issues for Racing Bulls in Bahrain, with Lindblad in the car for the entirety of Wednesday’s running.

The British teenager completed 75 laps and was 3.2 seconds off Lando Norris, but a power unit issue limited his time on track.

Arvid Lindblad has impressed Racing Bulls in testing so far… How will he compare to Liam Lawson this season?

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Lindblad has already changed his mind on Lawson, and Racing Bulls will know how important their relationship is going to be to the team’s success.

Paolo Marabini, Racing Bulls’ chief designer, has been speaking about the VCARB 03 and the process undertaken to get the car on track.

He’s admitted that the team were unsure about putting one part on the car ahead of testing.

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

Racing Bulls chief unsure about ‘controversial’ active aero on their 2026 F1 car

Marabini was asked in an interview with Motorsport about the active aero on this year’s Racing Bulls car and explained: “But in terms of performance, I have to say that the situation is still a bit controversial, isn’t it?

“So much so that for a while we even considered not activating it for some events, right?

“Then, after doing further simulations and so on, it became clear that the performance is there, and we will have to make the most of it because each team will use it in its own way.

“It is clear that there are activation zones, areas where you can use it, but not all teams will necessarily use it in the same way.

“And there is a strong impact on the car’s set-up, because even the discussion of doing it in wet conditions, deactivating the front wing or adjusting it differently, etc., leads to variations in the height of the car.

“If, for example, it starts to rain on Saturday when the car is in parc fermé after qualifying, you have set the height in a certain way, and if you don’t then use SLM [straight line mode], it changes your setting, whether it rains or not.

“If you adjust it well for the rain, you will have got it wrong for the dry and vice versa. And the front height is very important for the handling of the car, of course, but also for the aerodynamics, because the closer the car is to the ground, the better it performs from an aerodynamic point of view.”

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Helmut Marko weighs in on Arvid Lindblad ahead of his Formula 1 debut

One of the most influential figures within the Red Bull set-up departed at the end of the 2025 season in the form of Helmut Marko.

The veteran Austrian had a significant impact on both Racing Bulls drivers’ careers and was influential in Lindblad earning an F1 promotion last season.

In the build-up to the season starting, Marko has heaped more praise on Lindblad, citing his intelligence and how important that might be when getting to grips with the new regulations.

Drivers are going to have more to think about than ever when it comes to battery deployment and regeneration, and in tight midfield battles, that split-second thinking is going to be crucial.

The intra-team battle between Lindblad and Lawson will be fascinating, and with a car that has caught the eye of many in the paddock, they could either be regularly fighting for points or struggling to get out of Q1.