Liam Lawson hands Red Bull major praise: 'Nobody expected it'

Liam Lawson has praised the performance of Red Bull's power unit, revealing that "nobody expected" it to be so strong immediately.

Red Bull has become its own power unit supplier under the new regulations, with the Milton Keynes-based outfit also responsible for Racing Bulls' engines.

While the Austrian organisation has faced several other challenges since producing everything in-house, it does appear to have aced power unit development at the first attempt.

Many have been surprised at just how impressive Red Bull's power unit has been, with some believing it is the strongest on the grid.

At Racing Bulls, the Faenza-based outfit appears to have an all-round strong package to fight at the front of the midfield, but it is Red Bull's engine that is really giving it a boost.

According to Lawson, the engine has been the biggest strength of Racing Bulls' 2026 car so far, with performance consistently being extracted in each grand prix.

"But I think in general, the strengths of our car — for sure, our power unit has been very, very strong," Lawson told select media including RacingNews365. "I think, especially for a season one power unit, nobody expected it to be like this.

"So that's really been the strong point for us. I think with our car, we've extracted — I think we've found it not easy, but we've found it, I guess, possible.

"And each weekend we've been able to extract everything out of the car, which has been positive. I think obviously we're lacking just a little bit of raw speed, a little bit of downforce.

"And I think once we find that, we'll be in a good place."