Lawson “positive” as Racing Bulls tackle flexi-wing shift

Liam Lawson got his Spanish Grand Prix weekend off to a confident start, backing up a “positive” opening session with another composed and competitive showing in FP2 as Racing Bulls continued to adapt to F1’s updated technical directive.

Among the first drivers to roll out of the Barcelona pitlane was Lawson, whose VCARB 02 was heavily fitted with aero rakes and varying sensors to evaluate Racing Bulls’ latest front-wing developments — forced upon the grid due to the new technical directive banning flexi-wings. 

Kicking off his FP1 program, his initial hard tyre run was brought to an abrupt halt when he was impeded by Lewis Hamilton on track, leading the Kiwi to return to his garage shortly after.

Once back out under the scoring hot sun, Lawson eased into the session with an initial time of 1:16.981s before steadily improving throughout the hour. 

By the halfway mark, he’d dropped over a second and briefly found himself inside the top ten — narrowly ahead of teammate Isack Hadjar.

Sticking with the hard compound as others began switching to softs, Lawson continued gathering aero data until the final 15 minutes, when he finally bolted on a set of red-marked tyres for a performance run. 

He immediately lit up the timesheets with personal best sectors and a final sector in which he secured the overall fastest sector time, jumping to a standout P6 with a time of 1:14.339s.

Lawson then transitioned to high-fuel race simulations to close out the session, maintaining sixth overall in a productive outing for Racing Bulls who worked through their front-wing assessments and adjusted to the new technical regulations reshaping the aerodynamic landscape.

“It’s been a positive day and a good start to the weekend, Lawson said. 

“We’ve got a strong base to build on, but obviously tomorrow afternoon is what really counts. 

“We’ll keep working on improving the car. 

“Everybody’s chasing it and I think we were all a bit further away at the start of FP1 because of the new front wing, however we’ll still be chasing the balance. 

“I could definitely feel the difference in the car and we’re in a good place right now, but obviously we’ll be expecting every team to improve.”

Lawson avoided the fast-lane congestion as FP2 got underway, calmly joining the session from the back of the pit queue and settling into an early rhythm. 

Mirroring his strong FP1 showing, the Kiwi quickly climbed into the top ten, posting a 1:14.353s on the medium compound to hold an impressive sixth place in the opening phase.

That effort remained his best of the first stint, with Lawson completing six laps before switching to a fresh set of C2s for a second run. 

Though a late arrival to the soft-tyre runs, he made up ground with three personal best sectors, clocking a 1:13.494s to rejoin the fringes of the top ten.

Just under a tenth of a second split the Racing Bulls pair, with Lawson finishing P10 to Hadjar’s P9 as both drivers transitioned to high-fuel programmes in the final third of the session. 

The Kiwi then completed 14 laps on the C3 tyre before bringing his day to a close with a practice start on the grid, wrapping up another productive Friday for the #30 VCARB 02.

Having scored his first points finish in 2025 at the Monaco Grand Prix thanks to a standout result in Qualifying, this evening’s shootout will provide Lawson with the opportunity to replicate his fortune, however, not before one final hour of practice.

FP3 will take place at 20:30 AEST, followed by the hour shootout at 00:00 AEST.

Image: Zak Mauger/LAT Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

2025 Spanish Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, May 30:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, May 31:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, June 01:

Quali: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

Buy the new issue of Auto Action Premium HERE

Read the new issue of Auto Action Digital HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here or you can purchase a copy of the latest issue from one of our outlets here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine