The Japanese Grand Prix proved to be heavily influenced by the Safety Car for both Racing Bulls drivers, delivering contrasting outcomes. On Liam Lawson’s side of the garage, the team capitalized perfectly, using the neutralization to complete a pit stop and switch to hard tires, enabling the New Zealander to climb from 14th on the grid to a points finish in ninth place. On the other side, Arvid Lindblad’s race took a negative turn, as he had just pitted when the Safety Car was deployed following Oliver Bearman’s crash, costing the young rookie several positions.
Despite the mixed results, Racing Bulls’ consistent ability to score points in the opening rounds of the 2026 Formula 1 season offers encouragement regarding the potential of the VCARB03. However, energy management and overtaking difficulties remain key areas to address, as highlighted by Lawson’s race experience.
Lawson: “tough start but the safety car helped us”
After a disappointing qualifying session that left him starting from 14th position, Liam Lawson managed to secure Racing Bulls’ only points finish in Japan by crossing the line in ninth place. His race began under challenging conditions, not only due to his grid position but also because of a difficult start and setup changes made to the VCARB03 following issues encountered in qualifying.
“At the beginning we definitely struggled. We need to analyze how we ended qualifying, especially with the wing we put on the car. It wasn’t where we expected it to be. It was quite messy. Even the race start was quite difficult to manage, so we will look into everything and learn from this experience for the future.”
Unlike in China, where the Safety Car had compromised his race, the timing at Suzuka worked in his favor. In the latter stages, Liam Lawson found improved pace after switching to hard tires during his only pit stop.
“The first part of the race was really tough, but we managed to find a better speed window during the hard stint toward the end,” he explained after the race. “We were also a bit lucky with the Safety Car, which helped us get into the points, whereas in China it didn’t work out for us. Without it, it would have been difficult to finish where we did, so it’s good to bring home a positive result.”
With the points scored in Japan, Racing Bulls dropped to seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship, while Liam Lawson moved up to tenth in the Drivers’ standings, ahead of teammate Arvid Lindblad and Isack Hadjar. Including the Sprint race in China, the 24-year-old has now scored points in three of the first four race events, missing out only in his debut in Australia.
Lawson remains confident about the car’s potential: “Absolutely. In China we were unlucky with the Safety Car, yet we still scored points. Even there, we weren’t particularly fast in the race. It’s very positive when we can reach the level of performance we had in Melbourne. Honestly, I think we are in a very good position. Right now we are extracting everything from the car and scoring points, which is both positive and exciting.”
Energy management and overtaking challenges
As already seen in the opening rounds of the 2026 season, overtaking has become increasingly complex due to energy management constraints. Drivers attempting a pass in corners often find themselves lacking sufficient energy to defend on the following straight, allowing the overtaken driver to immediately reclaim the position thanks to better energy reserves.
Liam Lawson experienced these challenges firsthand, particularly in his battle with Esteban Ocon for ninth place, following an early surprise move from Gabriel Bortoleto at the start.
“At the beginning of the race, I was overtaken completely unexpectedly by Gabriel and that really stressed me,” Lawson explained to the media. “Then we reached the next straight and I overtook him again with more energy. So, more or less, the race went like that. I knew that if Esteban used energy to pass me, I would be able to pass him back. I think he knew that as well, so we maintained a steady pace throughout the race and had some fun.”
He went into further detail about the difficulties of overtaking: “If you ask Esteban, who was behind me, he’ll tell you he was much faster but couldn’t pass. For me, it was very difficult. I was in the train at the start and struggled with the car, even looking at Max Verstappen and the drivers ahead. It was very hard to overtake. This race was definitely the toughest. It doesn’t really matter what you do: you are forced to use energy to make a pass, and here there’s practically a straight immediately after where you get overtaken again.”
Lindblad: “the safety car hurt us the most”
While the Safety Car played in Lawson’s favor, it had the opposite effect on Arvid Lindblad, who finished the race in 14th position. After an impressive qualifying performance that placed him ninth on the grid, the Racing Bulls rookie made a strong start, gaining a position in the opening laps.
However, before his pit stop, he was overtaken by Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon, later finding himself battling Isack Hadjar.
“I think I was in eighth position after a couple of laps,” Lindblad explained after the race. “Then there were probably some things I could have managed better in terms of energy and battery with Max and Esteban during the first stint. So I lost those two positions and then I was settling into a good rhythm before the pit stop.”
The timing of the Safety Car, triggered by Oliver Bearman’s accident, proved particularly costly for drivers who had just pitted.
“The pit stop was a bit slow, so I lost a position to Hadjar, and then when the Safety Car came out, I lost another three or four positions,” he said. “The timing of it is probably what hurt us the most. I was in tenth place up to that point, and then I dropped to fourteenth. From there, we didn’t have the pace to recover. It’s a shame, but we knew before the start that this would be more of a defensive race than an attacking one. Regardless, there’s still a lot to learn and improve, and that’s what I’ll focus on.”
Leave a Reply