Liam Lawson couldn’t hide his excitement about Red Bull’s new engine after day one in Barcelona testing.
“From a power unit perspective it’s been very, very positive so far,” he said.
The brand-new power unit—built entirely in-house by Red Bull with Ford’s technical backing—completed an impressive 195 laps on its first day of testing. That puts it right on par with established manufacturers Mercedes and Ferrari.
When asked for his early thoughts, Lawson was upbeat but cautious.
“It feels good, honestly. So far today it’s been difficult to really judge, but the main focus at the moment is reliability. We’ve completed a good number of laps, with only a few minor things along the way.”
He explained that their few interruptions weren’t actual problems.
“The only issues we had today were precautionary, not actual problems. From a power unit perspective it’s been very, very positive so far. It’s still hard to compare ourselves to everyone else, but we’ll keep learning over the next few days.”
Isack Hadjar, who’ll be Max Verstappen‘s teammate this season, seemed genuinely surprised by how well things went. He not only helped rack up those impressive lap counts but actually set the day’s fastest time, beating out George Russell.
The young Frenchman had the honor of taking the RB22 out for its first laps in Barcelona.
Meanwhile, the four-time world champion is scheduled to test the car today.
Red Bull has essentially shocked itself with how smoothly the first day went with their new power unit. For a team taking such a massive technical gamble by bringing engine development in-house, this strong start must feel like validation.
The real test will come when the cars hit the track for actual racing, but this promising beginning suggests Red Bull’s bold strategy might pay off.
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