Liam Lawson: Racing Bulls learned most from season's toughest weekends

Liam Lawson insists the weekends that went wrong have taught Racing Bulls more than their successful ones, with the team conducting a thorough "deep dive" into races where things unravelled. The New Zealander sits ninth in the drivers' championship on 43 points, while Racing Bulls holds fifth in the constructors' standings after 11 rounds of the 2026 season.

Why it matters:

In a fiercely competitive midfield, marginal gains often separate success from failure. Lawson's focus on learning from difficult weekends rather than resting on strong results signals a mature approach that could define Racing Bulls' second-half campaign. With rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad closing the gap recently, eliminating recurring weaknesses is essential to maintaining their constructors' position and building momentum.

The details:

• Lawson has scored in eight of the opening 11 grands prix, recording sixth-place finishes at Monaco and Silverstone. He currently leads Lindblad by 20 points in the standings, though their performances have converged in recent rounds.
• The standout negative weekends were Miami, where Lawson retired, and Spa, where he finished 12th outside the points. He explained that while strong weekends followed a similar pattern of maximizing the car, the poor ones exposed underlying issues.
• The team has reportedly analyzed these events extensively to understand why pace vanished and how to prevent similar collapses, particularly since Lawson believes they were already extracting the maximum from the package in their best races.

What's next:

With the season entering its decisive phase, Racing Bulls must translate these post-mortems into consistent points finishes. Lawson will need to combine his proven racecraft with the team's technical fixes to fend off rivals and secure their fifth-place standing. The real test will be whether the lessons from Miami and Spa prevent another mid-season slump when it matters most.