Liam Lawson: Kiwi Formula 1 Driver on his new car, previewing the Melbourne Grand Prix

LISTEN ABOVE OR IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE NEW ZEALAND - LISTEN BELOW

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson is not having “fun” in his new car, but is excited to see what the new Formula One season brings. 

Melbourne hosts the first Grand Prix of the year this weekend, and the Kiwi driver had some productive practice sessions ahead of his second full season in the competition but is still getting to grips with his car. 

Speaking on Mike Hosking Breakfast, Lawson said his new car is not “super fun” to drive yet. 

“In some ways the car moves around quite a bit more and it depends on how you look at it - that can be more enjoyable. 

“But obviously we’re trying to extract every bit of lap time out of the car and in some ways it feels like you can’t attack as much as you could in the past when you had a lot more downforce.” 

The cars have become smaller and lighter in an attempt to enable improved racing. 

Racing Bulls' 2026 Formula One car in pre-season testing. Photo / AFP 

“They do feel a little bit smaller,” Lawson said, “a little bit more playful to drive. 

“But I think the main reason for that is just because we have a significant amount of aero taken off the car. 

“When you have a car that’s extremely high downforce, it’s designed to push through the air in a straight line. As soon as you start sliding the car, you lose a lot of that downforce because you start to hit the air on an angle with your yaw and it basically upsets the car massively.” 

The Kiwi driver said his team was surprised at how good the power units have been, but felt engine reliability is going to play a big factor with some teams struggling at the start of the season. 

Liam Lawson for Racing Bulls in Formula One's pre-season testing. Photo / Red Bull 

When asked about his own chances, Lawson felt he had learned a lot from last year and felt it was important he was able to “survive” it. 

“I’m grateful to have done that and feel a lot better going into this year, but just because of new cars and new regulations it sort of throws a whole new thing in there that is quite unknown.” 

Despite the issues with the cars, Lawson said he was looking forward to the new season starting. 

“On a personal level, I feel very comfortable and excited for the season, but, in a lot of ways obviously with these new cars, there’s a lot of unknowns.” 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.