F1 2026: Liam Lawson has first drive in new car as testing begins in Barcelona
Liam Lawson of New Zealand driving the Racing Bulls VCARB 03 on track during day one of F1 Shakedown at Circuit de Catalunya. Photo / Getty Images
Liam Lawson has had his first drive in Racing Bulls’ new Formula One car, with testing beginning in Spain overnight.
The Kiwi driver spent both of two sessions on the track.
On the opening day of F1 Shakedown at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Lawson had a decent morning session in the new Racing Bulls car, running close together on track with the Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto and the new 2026 entrant Cadillac with Valtteri Bottas behind the wheel.
Lawson returned for the afternoon session with 2024 rival Sergio Perez on track, replacing Bottas in the Cadillac. Alpine driver Franco Colapinto also tested across both sessions. Esteban Ocon at Haas got time in the new car, while the Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell each had a session.
The testing is private, with times not being made public, although according to some reports, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was the quickest of the day.
Lawson’s new Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad will likely get his first session tomorrow. While Barcelona will see all five days this week used for shakedown runs, the 11 Formula One teams are limited to a maximum of three days on track.
That will likely see Lawson afforded just one more session, with Lindblad to also be given three across Racing Bulls’ remaining two days.
Say hello to our VCARB 03 🔥#F1 #VCARB pic.twitter.com/VciE7w7wxX
— Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team (@visacashapprb) January 26, 2026
“It’s very interesting at this point – new cars, new power units and very, very different to drive, so for us [we’re] just adjusting at the moment, but so far all good,” Lawson told F1.com.
“We did a good amount of laps today – obviously we learned a lot, we had a few little things along the way which are expected on day one, but I think [we’re] in a decent place.”
McLaren and Ferrari are expected to begin testing on day two, with Aston Martin also yet to take the track, while Williams are the only team not testing in Spain, with their car having failed safety checks because of being over the weight limit.
The second run of pre-season will see the drivers head to the Bahrain International Circuit for between February 11-13 followed by a final final testing session at the same track a week later before the season begins in Melbourne on March 8.