Liam Lawson shared his first impressions after Day 1 of the F1 2026 Barcelona shakedown, reflecting on early running, adapting to the new-gen car, and commenting on Red Bull’s power unit.
The Barcelona shakedown is a behind-closed-doors test event held ahead of official pre-season testing in Bahrain, giving teams a first proper chance to gather data under track conditions. Media access is limited, with no fans allowed trackside, no live broadcast, and minimal imagery released.
Lawson reacts to first day of pre-season running at Barcelona shakedown
Lawson completed 88 laps on Day 1 of the 2026 Barcelona shakedown, kicking off Racing Bulls’ pre-season with a reliable run in the new-generation car. Speaking trackside after the session, he summed up the outing as “very interesting,” pointing to the clear changes brought on by the new chassis and power unit regulations.
“It’s very interesting at this point. New cars, new power units, and very, very different to drive,” Lawson said. “So for us, just adjusting at the moment. But so far, we’re good. We did a good amount of laps today. Obviously, we learned a lot.”
The Racing Bulls driver acknowledged that adjusting to the new car will take time. Asked how different it felt behind the wheel, he said: “Very, very different. I definitely haven’t got my head around it fully yet.”
Lawson suggested that drivers might play a bigger role in extracting performance under the new regulations.
“It feels like there’s a lot more we can do as drivers potentially to make a difference, which is good,” he noted. “But right now, it’s very early days. So it’s very hard to know where we are. For now, just trying to learn how to optimise the car.
“A few small issues cropped up during the day, but nothing out of the ordinary for a first test. We had a few little things along the way, which are expected on day one. But yeah, I think in a decent place.”
Focus on learning, not lap times
Having raced various types of cars across different series, Lawson admitted he’s enjoying the challenge of getting to grips with the new-gen VCARB03.
“It definitely is [a challenge],” he said at the Barcelona shakedown.
“It’s in very early stages right now. It’s definitely very tricky a lot of the time, especially through some of the initial learnings that we have. I’m enjoying it so far. But obviously, the main focus is to try and improve the car as much as we can over the next few weeks and be in the best possible place for Melbourne.”
Positive signs for new Red Bull power unit
Lawson also offered his thoughts on Red Bull’s all-new power unit—built in collaboration with strategic partner Ford—which is being used by both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls this season.
“It feels good, honestly, so far today,” he said. “But it’s very hard to tell. The main thing is reliability at the moment. And we’ve done a good amount of laps today, only a few little things. Honestly, the only issues we really had today were safety precautions, not really any actual issues.”
Lawson continued: “On the power unit side, it’s been very, very good. But again, hard to know compared to everybody else where we’re at. We’ll definitely keep learning over the next few days.”
Day 1 of the 2026 Barcelona shakedown proved productive for both Red Bull teams, as Max Verstappen’s new teammate Isack Hadjar topped the timesheets, having completed a strong run of 107 trouble-free laps.
