F1 2026 Team Preview Racing Bulls Lawson Leads Lindblad Learns

He was like, the Holy Spirit took over and no one cares about sprint. I care about the sprint. McLaren is the world championship hotline. I have some thoughts about that. He's max freaking Verstappen. He should always be on your radar. We get to the juicy bits. Love the juicy bits. I'm not a scientist. Overtake king. Yeah. That restart by the way from Oscar Piastri. Cheeky. Diabolical. There's been lots of drivers. And we're live. I'm Anna. And I'm Jessica. And this is Why Are You Yelling. Welcome back to another F1 team preview. In this episode, we are talking about the 2026 Racing Bulls team. Are we calling them Racing Bulls? I think so. I still like V-Carb. Are they not sponsored by Visa Cash Shop anymore? I think they are, but I think it's Racing Bulls now instead of Visa Cash Shop RB. I'm calling them V-Carb still. I think. I think I like that. Tell me. Actually, get into a question early. Let me know in the comments. Are we calling them V-Carb or Racing Bulls? Because they tried to make Racing Bulls happen and a la fetch, I don't think it happened. I mean, I'm calling them that. But so, okay, that's fine. Which is V-Carb versus Racing Bulls. Let us know. Moving on. Here we go. So looking at Red Bull's sister team, V-Carb. So the sister team to Red Bull has been, it was created to develop younger talent. Sort of functioning like an unofficial, it's an unofficial little team, like B-team, junior varsity, whatever you want to call it. Yeah. To kind of like usher in a step in the pipeline, supposed to be anyway, between the lower formula series, training the drivers through the driver academy, eventually into Racing Bulls, and then moving up into the Red Bull main, the big girl team. It's a big girl. It's a big girl team. It's a big boy team. It's a big girl team. And that has seemingly happened for Isaac Hadjar. Finally. Finally. Happened for somebody. Yeah. I mean, it was, it took Yuki Tsunoda, how long before he got that opportunity? And it was mainly just as a seat filler anyway. They really had no intention of keeping around that long. Anywho. Don't even get me started about that mess. So yeah. Racing Bulls, V-Carb. It's going to bother me. I'm going to want to call them Racing Bulls now because that's what we said they are. V-Carb. V-Carb. V-Carb. V-Carb. I'm sticking to it. Okay. Okay. So V-Carb is coming off an impressive 2025 and trying to start 2026 as a like top of the midfield sort of team. Which, I mean, again, they had a really solid season last year, even with a little bit of upheaval at the beginning of the season, switching around drivers, you know, we had Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson switching places. But I mean, Liam and Isaac had pretty solid performances last season. Isaac, as we mentioned, has now moved up to Red Bull. And now we've got rookie Arvid Lindblad in Racing Bulls, which again, he has come up through the Red Bull program, driver program. So I mean, this is sort of the next step in his, the next natural step in his progression as a driver. And then we've got team principal Alan Permain. Oh yeah. That's right. Because he got promoted to that position after Laurent Mekes got promoted to the race or Red Bull team principal after Christian Horner was let go. Yeah. So there was a lot of personnel changes and Red Bull in the middle of the year. Yeah. And you know, for those who, for people who maybe don't know, this is a very, this is a unique situation in Formula One. Most Formula, all the other Formula One teams do not have this scenario where they have an A team and a B sister team where they can then just swap the four, the four drivers. They can just swap them whenever they want, because they're under contract with Red Bull. Now, the way that came about was at a time when F1 was actually struggling. This is pre-Drive to Survive. They were really struggling. They needed a 10th team and someone to pay, they needed someone to pay to be in Formula One to help keep funding it. And Red Bull stepped in and said, we'll fund the second team. And that's how it is. And they have since taken a lot of flack and a lot of criticism that no other team on the grid has that scenario where they have an A team and a B team. And I'm kind of like, you know what? Red Bull took the risk and they swooped in to save everybody's behinds when there was, you know. I would imagine everybody else was probably, did anybody else offer? Yeah. Really? It's kind of you didn't? Okay. So that is a unique scenario with Red Bull and VCARB. It is what it is. Yeah. But it does create these scenarios where when one person moves or leaves, we then have a lot of moving parts that are shifted around between the two teams to fill in the gaps, which is what we had happen last season. So sort of the big question heading into this new era in 2026 is, can Racing Bulls keep their momentum from last season and stay near the front of the midfield while integrating the only true rookie on the grid? Yeah. I say true rookie in reference to Arvid Lindblad because Fernando Alonso is forever a rookie. Yes. And he is our second rookie this season. Exactly. So what went right for Racing Bulls in 2025? They finished P6 in the Constructors Championship. They had some standout performances. Isaac Hajar scored a podium, his first podium ever at the Dutch Grand Prix. And then Liam Lawson was P5 in Azerbaijan. So, and for the most part, like Isaac Hajar, he was, I would say he was my rookie of the year just because he had so much consistency. I understand that Kimi Antonelli points wise was ahead of him, but I just feel like Isaac was so consistent after having a really horrible start in Melbourne when he crashed out on the formation lap in 2025. That was so upsetting. It was really horrible. So now what went wrong for Racing Bulls in 2025? The inexperience showed at times. The season was a little bit noisy off track with the driver and like team personnel management. Just, I mean, it was in the headlines a lot, especially Christian Horner. I mean, even though that might've been Red Bull in the headlines, it reflects onto Racing Bulls. And then eventually, you know, Racing Bulls did have their personnel go over to Red Bull once he was let go. So lots of crossover there. The early season swap between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson caused a lot of controversy, a lot of conversation, and that was not a great headline for either team really, because, I mean, Liam Lawson was in the Red Bull seat for what all of two or three races it felt like. I mean, it was pretty devastating, it seemed like. I mean, his demeanor after that swap happened, like, he came into Formula One when he, like, he was a, um, he filled in for somebody. Daniel Ricciardo. That's, that's right. Daniel broke his hand or something. Yeah, broke his wrist. Um, so when he, I feel like when he first stepped onto the scene of Formula One as a reserved or filling in that for Daniel, he had like a, an attitude about him of like, I know I'm good. Okay, and he'd been waiting at that point for a while. Yeah, I mean, so that's, like, Liam's whole story is he's just been waiting. And then he finally got that opportunity to show what he could do. He didn't get a permanent seat that next season, but then the following season, so for 20, was it 2025? No. No, Daniel Ricciardo was let go from Red Singles. I'm like, well, hold on, what's the timeline? No, Daniel Ricciardo, so he broke his hand, and then Liam stepped in and covered for him. Then Daniel came back, and he was in, um, most of 20, he left Singapore. Singapore, I think, was his last race with Racing Bulls, and then Liam Lawson in 2024. Then Liam Lawson finished the rest of the season, and then he was a full-time driver last season. Yes. So last season was his, that's why people called him a rookie still, was his first full season of Formula One. That's right, and he started with Red Bull for a couple of races, and then, yeah, I guess it was just two. So it was just a lot of commotion and drama, honestly. Yeah, and like I said, he had, like, this certain attitude of, like, I'm here, I'm ready, and, like, I'm gonna show them what I can do, in an era of, like, confidence. Yeah. Some would argue bordering on arrogance. Oh, yeah, he was making some ops. He was getting elbows out, making some big moves, and people were not happy. Some of the more senior drivers were like, what is this guy doing? Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, I think. Yeah, they had, they had problems with him. Yeah. And then, you know, I think he, he still had that coming into last season, and then the swap happened with Yuki, and then he looked dejected. Like, homie looked sad, and, I mean, I can imagine the sort of, like, havoc that could wreck on your confidence as a driver. Yeah, I mean, Red Bull just has, under Christian Horner's leadership at the time, had a huge reputation, it seemed like, of just destroying drivers' confidence. I mean, just driver swap here, in the middle of there, and getting rid of this person, because, I mean, it was just, if you're not Max, you're not good enough. I mean, honestly, the last pairing they had that didn't have that problem was Daniel Ricciardo and Max, and after that, there was, like, barely any consistency, until they got Sergio. Yeah. So. And even that started to go downhill. Yeah, and which is, like, yeah, there's so much instability, and, like, insane. But, yeah, so, but Liam had sort of, like, a bounce back last season, so we had that moment of dejection, of, like, oh, you know, this sucks, that I've knocked on his confidence, but it seems like he got back into the swing of things, and sort of picked it back up, and there, I saw some flashes, some moments of, like, okay, I see you. Do you remember when he first went back to Racing Bulls, and this is Laurent Mechies was still the team principal, and they were like, welcome back, we're so happy, they did this whole video, and they were so, they were just, like, trying to, like, we love you, we're so happy you're back, trying, because I'm like, God, they knew how hard that had to be. So, the defining story for Racing Bulls going into 2025, and we saw a lot of good flashes from them, and now the story is, are they going to be the top midfield team? Because they were showing promise of that. I mean, they were P6. P5 means you're top midfield team. Where are you going to be? And if you're P5, you're almost P4, and you're almost, you're basically in the top three. You're basically first. So, you know, were they going to stack up this year? And we've already talked a little bit about what changed since last year. So, Isaac Hajar is now with Red Bull, and Arvid Lindblad has now stepped into F1 as a rookie alongside Liam Lawson. The leadership change, that hasn't changed since last year. So, Laurent Mechies did weave in 2025. He's now the team principal of Red Bull, and Alain Permain is still the team principal of Racing Bulls going into 2026. So, what have the new regulations looked like so far for Racing Bulls from what we've learned so far from the preseason testing? It's, they put a lot of miles in. They seem to have reliability, and they're just doing their best to learn the new 2026 system rather than chasing really, really great lap times, because something to consider with this new car, there is no DRS anymore. You have Active Aero, where the drivers at any point can change their front wing. Wasn't there a new system called MOM, Manual Override Mode, or something like that? Is it MOM? I'm not sure what it's called. There's a new name for it. There's a new name. I'm sorry. That just entered my head, and I had to interject. My bad. So, they can change their rear wing, their front wing. They have, like, an attack mode where you have to build up so much within the battery. They have an overtake mode. So, there's a lot for the drivers to really learn, and how you can build up the battery is you have to be hitting the brakes or letting off the gas. So, you know, you're having to really, there's just a lot for them to learn about when it comes to how do we even use the car. So, it's just very different. It's, that's interesting in how it will affect the drivers individually in their driving styles, because that is going to affect it, because normally they might have a specific way that they like to drive the cars from the previous era, but now they have to adjust all of that because the batteries don't charge the same, and you have to be strategic about when you're going to do certain things, like letting off the gas, hitting the brakes, building up the battery, so that you can then use that power at a different part of the track. Oh, yeah. I mean, not to mention, like, you have somebody behind you who's gaining, but I need to get my battery. What do I, what should I do? Should I build it now? Are they going to get on me too? I mean, there's so much for the driver to consider. So, that's why I think just having... And strategists too. Yeah. So, having so much, that's why just having any sort of reliability at all. Like, if you, you have so much to learn with what's the best way for us to even handle, like, the new components of the car, like, have sort of, like, that new way to drive. So, if you don't even have reliability, like, you're so far behind. So, that's why, you know, at least racing bulls so far, they seem to have reliability, and that's what they've been trying to concentrate on. Where does this put them in the sense of, like, where are they stacking up in the midfield? They still seem at the top. Haas does seem to be edging them out. I mean, but they're not, like, the worst. So, they still, if they have, like... They're in the middle of the midfield. Yeah. They're in the middle of the midfield. They could be fighting for the top, considering they have good reliability, but we'll just have to see. So. So, let's talk about what the team has said publicly about testing and what they learned so far from the car. So, the team's tone has been pretty consistent. They first want to build upon their understanding just of the car and the way that it works. They explicitly framed Barcelona as a learning focus. So, they're mainly getting miles in, looking at reliability, correlation, energy management, and said they left in a much better place than they started. Yeah. Which is great. Anytime you're learning and you don't **** up the car, great. Yeah. When it comes to testing. So, Liam Lawson highlighted how different this car feels. So, there's less downforce and more movement and that the energy and battery management is a totally new challenge. Yeah. Which, again, I find super interesting. I'm very interested in that to learn more as the season progresses and what the driver's feedback is going to be. Because we only know the ground effect era. That's all that we know from Formula One. Yeah. Personally. Yeah. I was watching it. Yeah. Like how we have. That's our only experience with consuming Formula One is with that era of cars. So, we knew more or less how those cars worked and how to, how the drivers were using them. So, we have to learn. Yeah. Like the driver's learning. So, Alan Permain emphasized productivity and reliability as what they've kind of like got and gained from the Bahrain testing. They said that the first new part should arrive for the Australian Grand Prix. Oh, wow. Okay. And the car and power unit, again, ran reliably and only had minor issues. So, for them, what that means is they're already kind of winning a little bit just because, I mean, if you're reliable, thank God. Because we've already been seeing other teams, they're not behind the eight ball. Yes. Basically, with their margins being so thin, it's going to be very interesting to see who comes out on top when it comes to the midfield. And that's probably just going to boil down to clean weekends, smart strategy, and not damaging your car and just trying your best to what you want to win, but you also need to learn. So, that's going to be, I think, what the storyline for Racing Bulls is going to be. Not to mention, we have Arvid Lindblad, who is a rookie. I know nothing about him. I've not seen him race anything. I will say, I think he has come in at a very interesting time because no other rookie has gotten this much testing in a car that they're going to be driving. So, he had the shakedown in Barcelona. These two weeks in Bahrain. So, it's going to be very interesting to see how he stacks up against Liam Lawson. Are we going to see any sort of rivalry develop there? That's interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if that happens. Yeah. If they're reliable, because it's the same thing we said with Haas. If the car is reliable and it just keeps getting better, your first enemy is your teammate. Yeah. So, will we find a clear number one and clear number two by the end of the season? You would assume it's Liam, but is it? We're going to find out. Yeah. So, the storylines to watch. Arvid Lindblad, I would think watching him as a rookie is going to be very interesting. How is Alan Permain? This will be his first full season as a team principal. How is that going to look on the team? And where is Racing Bulls going to stack up in the midfield? Our question to you guys is, what do you think is going to be, what's your personal marker for success for Racing Bulls? At what point are we saying, okay, this is the goal I need you to meet. And once you do, I would consider that a success for you. So, is it points consistency? If we're consistently scoring points week in, week out, at the end of the season, would we say, okay, they were successful? Is it qualifying pace? Are we seeing them be competitive with the other midfields or even some of the upper teams, front of the field teams? Or would it be like our rookie's development curve? You know, how quickly Arvid Lindblad can can catch on and catch up? If, you know, what that looks like. So, let us know, what's your personal benchmark for success for this team? What's yours? What is yours? I think scoring points consistently. Yeah. I think that's my, I mean, because that's kind of what they were able to do at the tail end of last year. So, I would look to repeat that, but to be doing like finishing higher up. Yeah. Like, you can't just be scoring like one and two points every weekend. Like, I need them to be coming in like fifth, sixth, seventh. Yeah. I would, I think for me, I would agree with that, but I need to see better qualifying. I feel like that they would get in the points, but one of them was always having to fight their way into the top 10. And I'm like, we need more consistency in qualifying. Like, that's going to be like success. As long as the car is reliable, because at this point, if their car is reliable, Haas is reliable, Alpine seems reliable. Like, you got the top three midfield teams seems reliable. I mean, I mean, at this point, you were P6 last year, like P5 is now your benchmark in my head. So, I need to see more points. So, well, that wraps up this team preview. We are previewing all 11 teams on the grid. You should see a box pop up on screen somewhere right around here. Click on that and you can watch another one or click, there's a playlist, I'm sure. Go click any one of those and check out all the other team previews. But until then, we will talk to you next time. Bye.