The 2026 System 1 automobile launch season is ready to start in Detroit tonight with Crimson Bull and sister squad Racing Bulls revealing their liveries for the upcoming marketing campaign.
This can kickstart a three-week window through which all 11 groups will showcase their search for this yr, which will even witness the introduction of widespread technical regulation adjustments.
A automobile chassis will grow to be lighter and smaller with extra emphasis on electrical energy, which means it’s at the moment unknown what the pecking order can be because of the huge adjustments.
Regardless, what’s the state at Racing Bulls forward of this season?
What’s new at Racing Bulls?
The most important adjustments at Racing Bulls concern its driver line-up and energy unit provider. To begin with the previous, the Faenza outfit will give an F1 debut to 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad, who’s graduating from F2 having completed sixth in his solely season in that championship.
This comes after the promotion of Isack Hadjar, who impressed throughout his rookie marketing campaign at Racing Bulls final yr by ending twelfth within the standings, with a podium at Zandvoort being the spotlight.
Podium: second place Arvid Lindblad, Campos Racing
Photograph by: System Motorsport Ltd
It was apparent fairly early on, across the Dutch Grand Prix on the finish of August, that Hadjar was set to maneuver to Crimson Bull for 2026 – particularly contemplating the struggles of Yuki Tsunoda – and Lindblad confronted little competitors for a kind of Racing Bulls seats.
Fairly frankly, Crimson Bull had no person else to advertise from its junior ranks, of which Lindblad has been a member since 2021, and given he was fast-tracked by way of the single-seater pyramid then the Briton was the standout alternative.
Lindblad will accomplice Liam Lawson, who began the 2025 season at Crimson Bull however was dropped after simply two grands prix having carried out very poorly. The 23-year-old then spent the remainder of the season on the sister outfit, ending 14th within the championship.
It is a essential yr for Lawson as a result of he made his debut for Racing Bulls again in 2023 in a stand-in function, however 2025 was his first full season in F1, which means he has an honest financial institution of expertise in F1 even when it has been on and off. So, given Crimson Bull doesn’t prefer to hold drivers at its second group for very lengthy if a promotion isn’t on the playing cards, then Lawson may come beneath strain for his place.
What’s coming into the household is a brand new engine programme, with 2026 being the debut of Crimson Bull Powertrains. The junior group has been powered by Honda since 2018, however the Japanese marque introduced in 2020 that it will withdraw from the championship after 2021, earlier than making a U-turn on that call after being impressed by the route of the 2026 laws.
By that time, nonetheless, it was already too late as Crimson Bull had dedicated to constructing its personal engines for 2026 with Ford as a accomplice.
What’s the most important problem to Racing Bulls?
Crimson Bull Ford Powertrains
Photograph by: Crimson Bull Content material Pool
There’s a cause that the Mercedes-powered vehicles are on all people’s lips as those which could possibly be strongest this yr, contemplating how the Silver Arrows dominated the final engine change in 2014.
Ferrari and its prospects is also sturdy contemplating the Italian marque’s historical past of a robust engine, whereas Crimson Bull and Racing Bulls are way more unknown portions contemplating they’re coming into new floor by constructing in-house energy models.
Crimson Bull boss, previously of Racing Bulls, Laurent Mekies even stated “it will be naive” to imagine that each groups could have the strongest engine right away as a result of the transfer in-house is “the craziest resolution one can take”.
So the most important problem can be for Racing Bulls to be aggressive from the Melbourne opener and guarantee it has an engine able to holding its personal right away.
What’s the strongest asset to Racing Bulls?
The strongest asset for Racing Bulls must be its shut collaboration with considered one of F1’s largest groups in Crimson Bull. Contemplating each squads come beneath the identical umbrella then they’re typically sharing parts such because the suspension, gearbox and hydraulics, permitting Racing Bulls to suit automobile components at a diminished value.
There may be additionally its “location free” strategy, which entails having a base in each Faenza and at a facility in Milton Keynes subsequent to Crimson Bull, permitting workers to be unfold throughout two bases. This provides workers the liberty of deciding the place they wish to work, in addition to presenting the corporate the possibility to realistically make use of individuals from each nations, plus ensuring that sure departments aren’t pigeonholed into place.
What’s the objective in F1 2026 for Racing Bulls?
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Crew
Photograph by: Zak Mauger / LAT Photographs through Getty Photographs
Racing Bulls will simply be hoping for extra of the identical within the 2026 marketing campaign: stable midfield. It comes after ending sixth within the 2025 standings, which was the Faenza squad’s finest consequence since its AlphaTauri days in 2021 the place it additionally secured sixth, highlighted by a podium in Baku.
So final yr was successfully nearly as good because it may get for Racing Bulls, who would little doubt be pleased with that consequence once more in 2026 contemplating the challenges of working a brand new energy unit and the way it has misplaced its star driver for Lindblad.
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