Latest news with #RacingBulls
1News
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- 1News
F1: Liam Lawson energised to perform in Austrian GP
Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls are likely to face similar issues they had in Canada a fortnight ago when they take on the Austrian F1 Grand Prix this weekend. Racing Bulls were well out of the points in Montreal and the team will hopefully have fixed any issues in the time since. Racing Bulls admitted they lacked pace to challenge for the top 10 in Canada with team principal Laurent Mekies hoping they could change that in time for Austria after some work back at the team base in Britain. Lawson's cause wasn't helped when he was forced to start from the pit lane after the team made some changes to his power unit. Unfortunately, cooling issues forced him to retire late in the race. He can only hope the car is at its best because Red Bull Ring is a unique circuit where the margins become even finer. ADVERTISEMENT It is one of the shortest and fastest circuits on the calendar with drivers completing a lap in just over a minute. It has just 10 corners, but has three DRS zones allowing for overtaking. The downforce setting becomes critical to balance the speed of the straights and the grip needed on the fast corners. Lawson has raced there in junior categories. "I've really enjoyed the track but, obviously in F1, it will bring an entirely new pressure," Lawson said. "I'm coming into this weekend with fresh energy following Canada and am ready to fight for points with the team." Both Lawson and Isack Hadjar have spent a lot of time in the simulator since Canada, while chief technical officer Tim Goss said they'll "take forward some further setup adjustments to maximise the car's capabilities". ADVERTISEMENT Qualifying will again be the key to picking up points. Lawson has made the third part of qualifying just once this season and that was in Monaco when he went on to grab his only points. Meanwhile, Red Bull have confirmed that British youngster Arvid Lindblad will get his first grand prix weekend outing at the British GP at Silverstone next week. The 17-year-old obtained his FIA Superlicence earlier this month. Lindblad, who won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand last summer and currently races in F2, will be involved during Friday practice at Silverstone. Until now, Ayumu Iwasa has been the only reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls.
NZ Herald
21 hours ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Formula 1: Liam Lawson outpaces Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar in Austrian Grand Prix practice
Liam Lawson wasn't able to start the Austrian Grand Prix weekend with top 10 practice finishes the way he did in Barcelona and Canada, but the Kiwi driver got through a solid day's work at Spielberg's Red Bull Ring. The Racing Bulls driver managed a 15th-place finish in Free Practice
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Liam Lawson hoping for a fast car for Austrian F1 GP
New Zealand F1 driver Liam Lawson. Photo: MPS AGENCY / PHOTOSPORT New Zealand driver Liam Lawson expects racing for the mid-field teams to be even closer in this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. Lawson's Racing Bulls team is currently seventh in the standings with just a few points separating the teams ranked 6th to 9th. The Austrian circuit is one of the shortest in the championship and Lawson said it was hard to tell how they would fare. "Here it is always very close and this year in general it has been extremely close so I expect it to be even more so this weekend just because it is a short lap and it has been that kind of season," he told the media. "Our car has been strong recently, in Barcelona it was fast, we hope it is fast here but honestly it is really really hard to tell." The cars will complete a lap in just over a minute which means qualifying becomes extremely tight. Lawson was then asked if it would be best to set the car up for qualifying or the race. "One of those ones for the engineering team." Meanwhile, present rivalries and past collisions hang over Red Bull's home race as F1 braces for the next round of Max Verstappen versus George Russell. Russell and reigning champion Verstappen finished first and second in Canada two weeks ago, with Red Bull protesting - in vain - the Mercedes win and accusing the Briton of unsportsmanlike behaviour. It is safe to say the pair are not friends and they are building up quite a track record, colliding in Spain this month in an incident that left Verstappen blamed and on the brink of a mandatory race ban. Two of those penalty points expire after Austria but he still has to stay out of trouble through a weekend in the Styrian hills where his orange-shirted fans will be out in numbers. Verstappen and Norris caused a commotion in Spielberg last year when they collided while scrapping for the lead, with Norris chasing. That gifted victory to Russell. Norris will return with the memory of that coming together now overtaken by the one between him and Piastri in Canada that left him 22 points adrift of the Australian after 10 of 24 races. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen battle during the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix. Photo: AFP Formula 1 statistics for the Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg, the 11th round of the 24-race championship. Lap distance: 4.318km. Total distance: 306.452km (71 laps) 2024 pole position: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull, One minute 04.314 seconds. 2024 winner: George Russell (Britain) Mercedes Race lap record: Carlos Sainz (Spain) Ferrari 1:05.619, 2020 Start time: 1am Monday NZ time The Red Bull-owned circuit has the shortest lap, in terms of time, on the calendar with only 10 corners but aggressive kerbs. It takes a little over a minute to complete. It also has the second biggest difference between its highest and lowest points (69m), after Spa-Francorchamps. This year will be the 38th Austrian Grand Prix. The first was held at Zeltweg airfield in 1964 and moved to the Oesterreichring (later renamed A1 Ring and now Red Bull Ring) in 1970. There have been 10 winners from pole in 20 races on the current configuration. Most overtakes occur into turns three and four. Turns two, five and eight are taken at full throttle. Verstappen has a record four Austrian wins (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023) and other active winners are Charles Leclerc (2022), Lewis Hamilton (2016) and George Russell (2024). Mercedes are the most successful team in Austria with seven victories. Hamilton and Verstappen also won the two Styrian GPs held at the same circuit during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The last three editions of the race have run as a sprint weekend but this year reverts to its traditional schedule. McLaren's Oscar Piastri leads the drivers' championship by 22 points from teammate Lando Norris. Verstappen is 43 points behind Piastri. Leaders and champions McLaren are 175 points clear of Mercedes, with Ferrari a further 16 adrift. Piastri has won five of 10 races this season, Verstappen and Norris two each and Russell one. Seven-times world champion Hamilton has a record 105 career victories from 366 starts. Verstappen has won 65 grands prix and is third on the all-time list after Schumacher on 91. Piastri has seven career wins to Norris's six and can become the first Australian to win six in a season. Piastri has been on pole four times this season, Verstappen three, Norris twice and Russell once. Norris has started on the front row in five of 10. Both McLaren drivers have finished on the podium eight times in 2025 but Piastri's run of eight in a row ended in Canada two weeks ago. Charles Leclerc's second place in Monaco was Ferrari's best of the season so far. Only Piastri and Verstappen have scored in every race this season, with Norris' run ending after a late collision with his teammate in Canada. Piastri has scored for 36 races in a row. Two rookies have yet to score - Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine's Franco Colapinto. -RNZ/Reuters
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
F1: Liam Lawson energised to perform in Austrian GP
New Zealand F1 driver Liam Lawson. Photo: Eric Alonso / PHOTOSPORT Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls are likely to face similar issues they had in Canada a fortnight ago when they take on the Austrian F1 Grand Prix this weekend. Racing Bulls were well out of the points in Montreal and the team will hopefully have fixed any issues in the time since. Racing Bulls admitted they lacked pace to challenge for the top ten in Canada with team principal Laurent Mekies hoping they could change that in time for Austria after some work back at the team base in Britain. Lawson's cause wasn't helped when he was forced to start from the pit lane after the team made some changes to his power unit. Unfortunately, cooling issues forced him to retire late in the race. He can only hope the car is at its best because Red Bull Ring is a unique circuit where the margins become even finer. It is one of the shortest and fastest circuits on the calendar with drivers completing a lap in just over a minute. It has just ten corners, but has three DRS zones allowing for overtaking. The downforce setting becomes critical to balance the speed of the straights and the grip needed on the fast corners. Lawson has raced there a number of times in junior categories. "I've really enjoyed the track, but obviously in F1 it will bring an entirely new pressure," Lawson said. "I'm coming into this weekend with fresh energy following Canada and am ready to fight for points with the team." Both Lawson and Isack Hadjar have spent a lot of time in the simulator since Canada, while chief technical officer Tim Goss said they'll "take forward some further setup adjustments to maximise the car's capabilities". Qualifying will again be the key to picking up points. Lawson has made the third part of qualifying just once this season and that was in Monaco when he went on to grab his only points. Meanwhile, Red Bull have confirmed that British youngster Arvid Lindblad will get his first grand prix weekend outing at the British GP at Silverstone next week. The 17 year old obtained his FIA Superlicence earlier this month. Lindblad, who won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand last summer and currently races in F2, will be involved during Friday practice at Silverstone. Until now Ayumu Iwasa has been the only reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls.
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Sergio Pérez Drops Bombshell About Red Bull F1 Team – 'They Regret It'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Former Red Bull Racing Formula One driver Sergio Pérez has made a revelation, stating that Red Bull "regrets" the decision to part ways with him after the 2024 season. He also opened up on the real reason for the team's drop in performance following a period of historical dominance. Red Bull enjoyed a period of superiority since the inception of the current ground effect era in 2022, thanks to the aerodynamic expertise of the team's former chief technical officer, Adrian Newey. 2023 saw the outfit perform at its peak, winning 21 races of the 22 on the F1 calendar. However, Newey's exit announcement months after the start of the 2024 season amid Red Bull's internal turmoil is what caused the team to fall apart, according to Pérez. Though Max Verstappen's performance allowed him to win his fourth championship at the 2024 round in Las Vegas, Pérez's ongoing struggles with the RB20 F1 car contributed to Red Bull securing third in the overall championship standings. Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing answers questions in the TV media pen during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 7, 2024... Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing answers questions in the TV media pen during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 7, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. MorePérez's performance slump was highlighted mid-season, courtesy of balance problems on the RB20, which caused a lapse of confidence in the Mexican driver. Red Bull only acknowledged the problem once Verstappen exposed it after the summer break amid McLaren's resurgence. After the 2024 season, the Milton Keynes-based team decided to part ways with Pérez, replacing him with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson. However, the Kiwi driver failed to impress Red Bull after the first two Grands Prix of 2025, resulting in his demotion back to Racing Bulls. Instead, Red Bull promoted Yuki Tsunoda to the seat alongside Verstappen. Tsunoda, who scored several points for Racing Bulls, found Red Bull's RB21 F1 car a much tougher challenge, struggling to finish even in the top ten. Among the three drivers Red Bull had in the car, apart from Verstappen, Pérez was the most well-suited. Speaking on the Desde El Paddock podcast, Pérez was asked if he thought Red Bull owed him an apology for his exit. He answered: "No. They made certain decisions because of the immense pressure—pressure that they themselves helped create. "But I know, deep down, they regret it. And I know that from a very reliable source. "Still, what can you do? You move on. It's tough. I have very good friends there, and people might think I take pleasure in what happened - but no." Newey was the mastermind behind the design of Red Bull's F1 car, but since his departure to Aston Martin as the team's new managing technical partner and shareholder, Red Bull has struggled to keep the car in its optimal performance window. Pérez believes the problems began after Newey announced his exit last year. He added: "We had a great team. In the end, it slowly fell apart, but we really did have something special, during one of the most competitive eras in F1. "We didn't dominate an era like Mercedes, where they had a massive engine advantage. In our case, the performance gap was minimal, and we still built a powerhouse. "When Adrian left - that's when the problems really started."
