Liam Lawson airs concern over 'unfortunate' F1 rule change.
Liam Lawson believes F1's new style of qualifying can be "extremely" mentally tough for drivers as they can no longer push flat-out.
3 Apr 2026
Jake Nichol & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

Liam Lawson believes F1's new qualifying style is "unfortunate" and "strange." With the new batteries not having enough energy to complete a full lap at usual qualifying speed, drivers are having to adapt their styles over a flying lap, much to their dismay. "It is not like it used to be, it is quite different, quite frustrating in some cases when you're trying to extract everything out of the corners," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365.

"You're finding time through the corners, but you're using more energy, and then you end up being slow trying to find the balance and drive under the limit. It is a strange way of driving. It is unfortunately processing more rules to follow when qualifying, where previously you were flat-out trying to extract everything from the car.”

"Sometimes you will find the time, and feel like you are on the limit, and then you've actually spent more energy by doing that in the corners. It is extremely [tough mentally] because in qualifying, you're trying to go as fast as you can, so it is just about trusting the methods we have and following them."

'Unfortunate F1 rule change’;

https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...f1-rule-change


Liam Lawson puts ball in FIA court over F1 2026 safety fears
24 Mar 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Liam Lawson said it is over to the FIA to act or hold station, as he raised safety concerns over the new F1 2026 regulations. Reflecting on his near-miss with Franco Colapinto at the start in Melbourne, and experiences that weekend of being around other cars of varying energy status, Lawson said that drivers will continue to raise concerns, and the FIA will respond how it sees fit.

Lawson had a particularly close shave in Melbourne, as Franco Colapinto showed some razor sharp evasive action to miss Lawson’s slow starting Racing Bulls car. “It’s just very complicated,” Lawson said of F1 2026 race starts, as he spoke ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. “You see us sitting there for sort of 10 seconds, trying to start our pre-start procedure, and the starts are very inconsistent.”

“And it’s a new car, but still, it’s very tricky at the moment. We’ll talk about it more anyway. There’s a lot of things that we’re probably talking about now anyway, that haven’t been amazing about the cars. But that’s something that will obviously keep improving.”

‘Ball in FIA court’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-202...urne-near-miss


Liam Lawson hands FIA rule adjustment blow after Suzuka change
The FIA is aiming to address qualifying issues in meetings this month, with its rule adjustment for the Japanese Grand Prix having failed to deliver the hoped-for results.
5 Apr 2026
Nick Golding & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

Asked if the FIA rule changes affected qualifying, Lawson told select media, including RacingNews365: "It's hard to know, because every track is very, very different at the moment. So I haven't driven with the previous settings you’re referring to, so it's very hard for me to tell. But it didn't feel like it."

Across the Japanese Grand Prix, many comparisons were made by fans to Super Formula, an elite Japanese single-seater series. While its machinery has less horsepower than F1, it is renowned for its exceptional cornering speeds—something Lawson described as "very, very high".

Discussing Super Formula at Suzuka, Lawson said: "Yeah, the car here is something special. It's a very fun car to drive—low, comparatively, in horsepower to Formula 1, but the corner speeds are very, very high. My last experience of Super Formula was at this track, and it’s very, very enjoyable. It's still a great track."

‘FIA rule adjustment’;

https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...-suzuka-change


Liam Lawson admits he was left “mentally drained” by F1’s new 2026 cars after Japanese GP
31 Mar 2026
Lydia Mee
Motorsport.com

Liam Lawson was left mentally exhausted after the Japanese GP as he explained the intense challenge of adapting to the new regulations. Liam Lawson revealed he was left “mentally drained” following the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix.

“Godd, a little bit mentally drained,” he told F1TV after the race. “It’s very intense this year. You have a lot more that you’re thinking about when you’re driving. So, it was actually quite a tough race.”

‘Left “mentally drained” by F1’s new 2026 cars’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/l...e-gp/10809853/


Liam Lawson reveals 'confusing' moment ahead of 'hardest' race
Two points at least for Liam Lawson that did not seem on the cards early on.
29 Mar 2026
Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

From 13th on the grid at the Suzuka, Lawson was helped by the safety car surrounding Oliver Bearman's 50g crash on lap 22 of the 53-lap race that helped him finish ninth and collect a valuable two points for Racing Bulls. Whilst Lance Stroll's lap 10 stoppage in the Chinese GP worked against him a fortnight ago, even though he worked his way back to claim seventh, on this occasion, early race struggles were predominantly ended by the five-lap SC intervention.

Lawson's relatively lowly grid slot, though, and initial midfield struggles were due to changes made to the car coming into the race weekend. "The safety car wasn't ideal in China, and then here [Suzuka], it definitely helped us," said Lawson, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365. "To come away with points is very, very positive.”

"But we definitely struggled at the start. We have to look over how we ended qualifying, with the wing we put on the car. It was not where we expected it to be. It was definitely quite confusing there. And starting the race as well, it was also quite difficult to drive, so we'll look over everything and learn from it going forward."

‘Did not seem on the cards early on’;

https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...f-hardest-race


Liam Lawson 'bore brunt' of Helmut Marko treatment before brutal axing
Liam Lawson was discarded by Red Bull after just two races of the 2025 season.
25 Mar 2026
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Throughout his time in F1, Liam Lawson has garnered a reputation as a hard-racer, with Palmer believing that the New Zealander was actually harmed by Marko's no-nonsense approach, something lifted by the Austrian stepping back from his duties ahead of the 2026 season. "I think he was a big presence that could be really hard on young drivers coming through, to the benefit of those who could thrive and become world champion," Palmer told the F1 Nation podcast.

"Liam obviously saw the brunt of that last year, but it did remind me as well about the resilience he's got, and you have to say that he is a tough guy. We've seen it in his wheel-to-wheel battles; he is not afraid to flip the bird to whoever does him wrong in a grand prix, and it also took him a while to get up to speed in the Racing Bulls last year.”

"It wasn't instantaneous, but he got there, had some good drives, and it was the same thing in Melbourne. It could have been really easy for him to say: 'Oh, Lindblad is here and getting all the credit from Australia, but he drove really well in China, getting points in the Sprint and grand prix, and that will settle him down for the year."

‘Helmut Marko treatment’;

https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...e-brutal-axing