Liam Lawson has highlighted the importance of having a full pre-season with Racing Bulls as a "big difference" maker.
The 2026 pre-season was the first time in his career that Lawson had spent the period with Racing Bulls, doing so ahead of the major rules overhaul.
The New Zealander had spent the 2025 pre-season with Red Bull, but was demoted after two grands prix back to Racing Bulls - meaning he missed out on this crucial time understanding last year's machine.
Thus far in 2026, Lawson has scored points in seven of the nine grands prix, and also two of the four Sprints, with Racing Bulls emerging as the fifth-fastest team over the last few grands prix.
Explaining the importance of having a full pre-season, Lawson detailed how "being exactly aware" of the development direction was key.
"I mean, everything helps," Lawson began when asked by RacingNews365 for the impact of a full pre-season on his performance.
"I mean, naturally, the more experience you have in anything, the more it helps.
"But I think this year, coming in, especially with these new cars, it makes a big difference doing all the pre-season development.
"Being exactly aware of where we're focused on the car, what we are developing, I think it all makes a big difference."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Nick Golding and Samuel Coop as they look back on last weekend's British Grand Prix! They discuss whether the title fight has been blown wide open, if Ferrari is a genuine contender and Max Verstappen's major criticism of the RB22.
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!