Racing Bulls is in seventh place in the constructors’ standings, just four points behind fourth-placed Haas. The Italian team is satisfied with the start of the season, despite the prolonged development of the 2025 car having compromised the initial competitiveness of the 2026 project. The team, however, is optimistic about being able to catch up with the updates in the pipeline, also thanks to the excellent Red Bull power unit. Meanwhile, away from the track, the team is also carrying out work in Milton Keynes, with the aim of further enriching the UK headquarters.
Developments planned until the break
VCARB is coming off a good start to the championship, where qualifying performance was better than race performance. Team Principal Alan Permane, however, is not despairing, having always been aware that the 2026 project would start slowly: “[Last year] we developed the car late. We knew we would be a bit in trouble at the beginning, but I expect what we have in the pipeline will take us a bit further in the midfield fight.”
In Florida, developments initially planned for April will debut, partly destined to be shelved after just one race: “We had a major upgrade planned for Bahrain, which we will obviously see in Miami. We had another one for Canada, so that will be two hits in quick succession. There was no way to bring forward the one for Montreal. It’s a strange situation, we will bring a significant development and then new parts that will replace it almost immediately.” Permane also reassures that the development of the VCARB 03 will not stop in Montreal: “There will be small steps forward almost every race. We have two or three other big upgrade packages already planned, after which no predictions can be made. We have a plan until the summer break. I am optimistic that we can stay in the midfield.”
The weight of the updates
Racing Bulls is confident that the 2026 project, being still very young, has ample room for growth with developments. Lawson reflects: “When you are so early [in the regulations], you see significant updates that can make a big difference. Last year it was harder to find gains and we brought fewer developments, which perhaps gave you a few points of downforce. Even finding a few hundredths of a second, it would still have been a good package. This year, however, we expect to bring much more relevant innovations during the season and at a much faster pace, hopefully.”
The New Zealand driver has clear ideas about what the VCARB 03 would need: “I simply think we lack a bit of speed and downforce. Once we find that, I believe we will be in a better position.” Lawson, however, warns that increasing downforce could create complications in power unit management: “Often, when you end up going faster in corners, you are then slower overall on the lap, because you have used the battery more. Finding a balance is difficult. I believe that for our car this has been a less relevant issue compared to other teams. The top teams struggle more from this point of view, because they have more downforce and go faster. It will certainly become more relevant for us as we find more downforce, or at least in Japan it was like that for me.”
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Power Unit promoted
One of the best pieces of news for Racing Bulls is certainly the quality of the Red Bull-Ford power unit, which, however, came with many unknowns, being a project still in its early stages. “Obviously it has worked very well,” comments Permane. “We don’t complain and we are constantly learning. Every time the car runs, we learn. We are working with new people. An advantage we have is that the powertrain engineers are integrated into our offices and we work closely with them.” Linbldad also praises the Milton Keynes power unit, while acknowledging the competitiveness of the competition: “The engine has generally been good, but there is room for improvement. In Melbourne ours was performing very well, but since the Mercedes-powered teams started to understand, they have made a leap forward.”
The reference, in particular, is to Alpine, which in the first three races was a direct rival of Racing Bulls, although Permane is not surprised: “We knew they would have the Mercedes power unit and we expected them to be in good condition. We also knew they hadn’t developed their car last year. They had accepted that they would finish last and invested all their time in the 2026 project. I think they have done a good job and are very fast.” In any case, the Team Principal reiterates his optimism about the possibility of staying in the fight with Alpine, Haas and Audi: “I remain optimistic that we will be able to keep pace, if not do better than the other midfield teams. As I said, I think we start a bit further back than the others, but I believe we can do a good job.”
Work in Milton Keynes
If Racing Bulls can count on a good starting base, part of the credit also goes to having been able to develop the VCARB 03 in the new Milton Keynes factory, active for just over a year, but already destined for new interventions. Permane recounts: “The new Milton Keynes headquarters is fantastic compared to where we were before in Bicester. It’s difficult to quantify with numbers, but staff well-being and the working environment are very important aspects. There’s no doubt it’s a big step forward. We haven’t finalized the plans yet, but we intend to develop it further.”
“Right now we are moving our CFD data archive, which is currently in Italy, in Milan, to Milton Keynes. It’s a process that has its challenges, but it will speed things up for the staff working there. This will make the CFD engineers very happy, as they will no longer have to wait so long for results due to transmission time. The CFD cluster will be located within their own building. This will be the next phase to improve the Milton Keynes headquarters.” The relocation of the CFD data archive to England does not question the centrality of the factory in Italy, since the aerodynamic department has always been based in the United Kingdom. The Faenza headquarters, on the other hand, will continue to host the rest of the design offices and, above all, the production departments, called upon to make a great effort to churn out the updates that Racing Bulls eagerly awaits.
