Exclusive: Liam Lawson hailed for helping push Arvid Lindblad and Racing Bulls to 'new levels'

Liam Lawson's contribution to Arvid Lindblad’s impressive rookie F1 campaign has been praised by Formula E drivers' champion and Lindblad's manager Oliver Rowland, who believes the Racing Bulls team-mates are pushing each other to "new levels" every weekend.

Lindblad has made a promising start to his Formula 1 career, with the 19-year-old having established himself as a regular points contender across the opening 11 rounds of the 2026 season.

Racing Bulls has similarly emerged as one of the midfield success stories of the campaign, consistently proving itself as the best of the rest behind the established front-running teams, something Rowland is quick to point out.

The Faenza-based outfit entered the summer break fifth in the constructors' championship, having scored points in 10 of the opening 11 grands prix.

Lawson has accumulated 43 points to sit ninth in the drivers' standings, while Lindblad is 11th on 23.

For Rowland, who has worked closely with Lindblad throughout the youngster’s rapid rise through the junior ranks, the progress has been particularly encouraging.

"He's started the season in a really good way; we're really pleased," the Nissan Formula E driver exclusively tells RacingNews365.

"I think, firstly, the team have done an amazing job to bring so many valuable upgrades to the car, because you can bring upgrades and think they're going to do something, but actually having what you think is going to happen is very difficult in Formula 1.

"So I think huge credit to them; they seem to be consistently best of the rest outside the top four."

Lawson's role in that development is notable given the New Zealander’s own experience of Formula 1.

Now into his second full F1 season, after two partial campaigns, he has established himself as the more experienced reference point within the Racing Bulls garage and has repeatedly delivered strong results when opportunities have presented themselves.

Racing Bulls' improvement has also been underpinned by an effective development programme, with the upgrades introduced during the opening half of the year helping to position the team at the head of the midfield.

Lindblad, meanwhile, has had to adapt to the demands of F1 at remarkable speed. His promotion followed a rapid junior career and his progression through the Red Bull programme, with Rowland providing guidance away from the circuit as well as managing his career.

And the consistency achieved by both drivers has been a defining feature of Racing Bulls' season.

Lawson has scored points at eight of the opening 11 rounds, including sixth-place finishes at Monaco and the British Grand Prix, while Lindblad has twice finished seventh and added further points-scoring results in Australia, Spain, Austria and Belgium.

And the pair's development has also been intertwined, and they regularly occupy the same part of the circuit during a grand prix, which has, at points, led to close battles between them.

At Monaco, Lawson and Lindblad finished sixth and seventh respectively, while at Silverstone they crossed the line sixth and seventh again. Lindblad then secured ninth at Spa-Francorchamps after qualifying seventh, completing what Rowland considers his most rounded F1 weekend to date.

It is the relationship between the two drivers, rather than simply their individual results, which has particularly impressed the seven-time Formula E winner, however.

"But I think what's been really nice for us is that Liam's been really solid and fought back, and he had a really good couple of races, and then Arvid fights back and betters himself," he adds.

"That's exactly what you want in a team dynamic, where they're pushing each other to new levels every weekend.

"And, for us, it was discussing, 'Where is he [Lawson] better, where can we be better?' And that's a really, really nice thing to have, especially for Arvid.

"So yes, I think Spa was his [Lindblad's] most complete Formula 1 weekend to date, and yeah, the future looks bright for the whole team."

For Lindblad, that environment is currently one in which he is not expected simply to learn from an established team-mate, but to challenge him. And according to Rowland, that competition is already producing the desired effect.

The next step is to see whether Lindblad and Lawson can continue pushing one another — and Racing Bulls — towards more, higher "new levels" when the season resumes.