Liam Lawson misses out on major Racing Bulls upgrades for Belgian Grand Prix
Friday, 17 July 2026
Liam Lawson will not have the same upgrade package as teammate Arvid Lindblad for Monday morning’s (NZT) Belgian Grand Prix.
Lindblad has a new cooling system that also carries aerodynamic advantages, but Lawson’s car will not be fitted with it until next week’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Belgian Grand Prix gets underway at 1am on Monday (NZT) with the first practice on Friday night (NZT).
Formula 1 is all about scoring points and outperforming your teammate.
For Liam Lawson, the second part of that formula will be tougher than normal at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The Kiwi arrives at Spa-Francorchamps in the form of his life, riding a streak of five consecutive points finishes. His Racing Bulls team has also enjoyed four straight double points hauls, with both Lawson and Arvid Lindblad finishing in the top ten. Crucially, Lawson has outperformed Lindblad in each of those grand prix.
Lawson, who finished eighth at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, offered a wry smile when asked about Racing Bulls’ upgrades for Spa, most of which have gone to Lindblad.
After Lawson’s sixth-place finish at Silverstone, with Lindblad directly behind in seventh, Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane conceded the obvious, that his team lacks the pace to challenge F1’s top four teams, but said they remain determined to chase them down.
Racing Bulls currently trail the fifth-place Alpine in F1’s constructors' championship by just a single point, but Red Bull’s junior team have held a healthy advantage over the French outfit in the last two rounds at the Austrian and British Grand Prix.
“We’re working hard,” Permane said. “We’ll have a very decent upgrade coming in the upcoming races.”
However, for Belgium, most of those upgrades, particularly with the new cooling system that also offers an improved aerodynamic package, have only been fitted to Lindblad’s No. 41 car.
“We have new parts on the car, obviously more on Arvid’s side, but let’s see what they do. Hopefully they work for us,” Lawson told reporters at the FIA press conference.
However, the 24-year-old Kiwi remains upbeat about his chances of points at Spa.
“I think it’s a track that should be reasonably similar to Silverstone, which was a good track for us. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be strong,” Lawson said.
Lawson’s side of the garage will have to wait until next week’s Hungarian Grand Prix for the bulk of the upgrades. However, with the anticipated higher temperatures in Hungary, the cooling system will be more crucial next week than at Spa.
Heading into the Belgian Grand Prix, Lawson has 39 points from nine race weekends, already surpassing the 38 he scored in the entirety of last season.
That figure has been boosted by five consecutive points finishes dating back to his DNF in Miami.
Earlier this year, Lawson spoke of “bonus points” opportunities when drivers from the top four teams miss out due to reliability issues or crashes.
That scenario could play out again at Spa, with reigning world champion Lando Norris serving a 10-place grid penalty after fitting a new power electronics unit in his Mercedes-powered McLaren. If Lawson can qualify well, that could open the door for him to bank more points than just the three awarded for ninth (two) and tenth (one).
By comparison, after nine races last year, Lawson’s tally was just four points, all accumulated from his eighth place at the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix.
Belgian Grand Prix schedule
Friday 11.30pm: Practice 1
Saturday 3am: Practice 2
Saturday 10.30pm: Practice 3
Sunday 2am: Qualifying
Monday 1am: Belgian Grand Prix