– The Racing Bulls brought an extensive upgrade package to the Formula 1 race in Belgium – but only one. Thus, only one of the two drivers can benefit from the improvements, which include a new engine cover and a narrower airbox.
Read more Formula 1 live ticker: The qualifying in Spa live!
The team therefore had to consider which driver to give preference to in this case. The solution was: actually neither. Because they want to treat Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad fairly.
“I sat down with both drivers in Austria,” says team principal Alan Permane. “We had a very good qualifying behind us. I thought: ‘Okay, as long as everyone is in a good mood, I’ll deliver some bad news. We have a good update in the pipeline, but can only equip one car for Spa, and the next car will be ready for the following race in Budapest.'”
Competition instead of coin toss
“So I first suggested the very simple option that makes it fair: We don’t upgrade any car for Spa and then bring it for both in Budapest,” he says. But that was out of the question for the drivers: “Of course, they looked at me as if I were crazy, and I would never have done that either, so we didn’t really consider it seriously.”
F1: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa) 2026
Theoretically, the team could have also decided the matter with a coin toss, which has often been the deciding factor in such a situation. But Permane preferred to make a small competition out of it.
“Or we make a little fun out of it and say: Whoever qualifies further ahead in Silverstone gets the upgrade,” he says. Lawson and Lindblad, who had been close in recent races, didn’t need to hear more and gladly agreed to raise the stakes. “They both agreed, and that’s exactly how we did it,” said Permane.
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Lawson gets preference next time
Actually, Lawson seemed to have the better cards: The New Zealander led the qualifying duels 6:2 before the British weekend, had won the last three internal team qualifying sessions, and had already qualified ahead of Lindblad for the sprint in Silverstone.
But at the crucial moment, the rookie struck back: Both qualified for Q3, where Lindblad was ninth, the first follower of the four top teams. Lawson, on the other hand, was four tenths behind his teammate, lost the duel, and thus the fight for the upgrade in Spa.
Racing Bulls – Qualifying & Race
| Race | Lawson (Q) | Lindblad (Q) | Lawson (R) | Lindblad (R) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 7 | 2 | |
| Australia | 8. | 9. (+1.253) | 13. (+45.4) | 8. |
| China | 14. | 15. (+0.019) | 7. | 12. (+1 lap) |
| Japan | 14. (+0.386) | 10. | 9. | 14. (+9.7) |
| Miami | 11. | 16. (+0.538) | Retirement | 14. |
| Canada | 12. (+0.349) | 9. | 7. | Did not start |
| Monaco | 10. | 15. (+0.777) | 6. | 7. (+2.5) |
| Barcelona | 8. | 11. (+0.255) | 8. | 9. (+5.8) |
| Austria | 9. | 10. (+0.052) | 9. | 10. (+3.7) |
| Great Britain | 10. (+0.411) | 9. | 6. | 7. (+0.2) |
A small consolation: If the team finds itself in such a situation again during the season, Lawson will probably get preference then: “I think if it happens again later in the season – and it could happen later because we will bring another big thing at some point – it will go to Liam,” confirms Permane.
“We won’t do it like this again. He will automatically get it next time. But we tried to bring a little fun into the matter instead of just assigning it to someone.”
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