The 2026 F1 Belgian GP was a challenging weekend for Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who took the chequered flag in P12. This effectively marked the end of his five-race point-scoring streak that started at the Canadian round.
Following the end of the 2026 F1 Belgian GP, Lawson reflected on the difficult weekend and gave an insight into why he was struggling with pace. The New Zealander also spoke about the severe performance deficit compared to teammate Arvid Lindblad.
Lawson on power unit troubles at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP
The 24-year-old started the 2026 F1 Belgian GP in P9 after missing out of Q3, but he benefitted from grid drop penalties for Hadjar and Norris.
On the opening lap, Lawson went head-to-head with Lindblad into Les Combes and actually got ahead to be 7th. However, Lindblad got him after the restart and went on to finish 9th. While the New Zealander could keep close to his teammate before the stops, his pace on the hard tyre was miles off.
From there, both Alpines overtook him on lap 30 as he slipped from P10 to P12.
However, it is worth noting that Lindblad’s Racing Bulls was fitted with a new cooling upgrade. This is because he had outqualified Lawson in Silverstone, thereby earning the early priority.
Reflecting on his outing at the 2026 F1 Belgian GP, Liam Lawson lamented his Racing Bulls’ lack of performance. According to the New Zealander, he faced significant power unit and energy deployment issues all weekend.
The 24-year-old also expressed his frustration, sharing he is unaware of the primary reasons for the lack of pace and that it would be hard to figure it out, especially at a technically demanding track such as the Circuit de Francorchamps.
“We were just way too slow. So, yeah, all race, unfortunately. It was pretty apparent pretty quickly as well. So yeah, long day.
“I have no idea. I mean, today in the race, we definitely didn’t have… We had some issues with the PU, trying to optimise it. But yeah, honestly, with a track like this, you have no idea. There’s so much lap time depending on where you’re using energy. First stint wasn’t too bad, but from there, after the pit stop, we were just slow everywhere.”
Lawson also revealed that Racing Bulls miscalculated his car’s energy management strategy. In an attempt to prepare for the uphill climb through Eau Rouge, he tried to lift-and-coast to save energy. However, this backfired as he was left vulnerable and unable to defend himself as he approached Turn 1.
“We were trying to save energy through Eau Rouge down towards Turn 5, but we were losing so much time that people were accidentally overtaking me because we had no energy down to Turn 1, so we were trying lots of different things in the race, but it wasn’t really working.”
Encouraged by Lindblad’s performance
Despite the tough 2026 F1 Belgian GP weekend, Lawson walks away motivated by Racing Bulls’ progress on Lindblad’s car.
While he did not get the full upgrade package this weekend, the New Zealander praised his rookie teammate’s pace and performance at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Lawson then shared his anticipation leading up to the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP, where he will receive the same upgrades.
“Obviously, he’s been very fast this weekend. So it’s very positive. Everything that we’ve been bringing or the team’s been developing has been working. So yeah, very excited for next week.”
When asked if he had sustained any damage during the 2026 F1 Belgian GP, Lawson replied: “I don’t know, honestly.”
He shared that while he did make some minor contact with the surrounding cars in the opening lap, he was still able to go wheel-to-wheel with Lindblad upon exiting the pits following his only stop. He ran wide at Les Combes as the Brit had the inside and was just ahead at the apex.
“I mean, I had quite a bit of contact in the race. So, there was, obviously, I don’t think much from the first lap. But then I went off again after the pit stop. Quite aggressive in Turn 5. So yeah, I have no idea. But I think we also had power issues as well through the race.”
