LAWSON WAS CLEARLY UNHAPPY WITH THE RB22
Liam Lawson’s frustration with Red Bull’s RB22 became increasingly apparent during opening practice for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, with the New Zealander reportedly complaining about both the car’s unstable balance and its power delivery.
On the surface, Lawson’s FP1 performance looked encouraging. He finished fourth-fastest, just 0.425 seconds behind Charles Leclerc. However, the circumstances behind that lap painted a less impressive picture, as Lawson had used the soft C5 tyres while Leclerc set Ferrari’s benchmark on the harder C4 compound.
More importantly, Lawson repeatedly complained over team radio that the Red Bull felt “unstable”, highlighting a problem that has affected the car throughout the season.
RED BULL’S POWER UNIT IS NOW UNDER SCRUTINY
The bigger revelation came from Martin Brundle, who reported that Lawson had also been struggling with the way Red Bull’s power unit was delivering its performance.
According to Brundle, Lawson said he did not understand the power delivery and described it as the main factor holding him back.
That is particularly significant because 2026 represents a major new chapter for Red Bull. The team is running its own power unit after establishing Red Bull Powertrains, making this the first season in which the manufacturer has taken responsibility for its own Formula 1 engine project.
The complaints suggest that Red Bull still has work to do in making the engine and chassis operate harmoniously from the driver’s perspective.
LAWSON’S PROBLEM GOES BEYOND CAR BALANCE
An unstable rear end is one thing. A driver struggling to predict how the power unit responds when he applies the throttle is potentially an even bigger problem.
At a circuit such as Monza, power delivery is crucial. The track features long straights, heavy braking zones and numerous acceleration phases where confidence in the throttle can determine whether a driver gains or loses significant time.
For Lawson, this creates a particularly difficult situation. He needs confidence in the car to attack the circuit, but if the power delivery is unpredictable, extracting maximum performance becomes considerably harder.
It also helps explain why a respectable headline FP1 position did not necessarily reflect how comfortable Lawson felt behind the wheel.
LAWSON NEEDS TO IMPRESS RED BULL
The timing could hardly be more important for Lawson.
He is currently standing in for Isack Hadjar at Red Bull after Hadjar suffered a wrist injury, while Yuki Tsunoda has continued in Lawson’s Racing Bulls seat. Hadjar was expected to have a chance of returning at Monza but was ultimately ruled unfit after failing his fitness assessment.
That has given Lawson another opportunity to demonstrate that he deserves a permanent Red Bull seat in 2027.
However, the situation is complicated by the fact that Lawson is attempting to prove himself while driving a car he clearly does not believe is behaving correctly. If his complaints continue, Red Bull engineers will need to determine whether the underlying issue is primarily the car, the power-unit configuration or Lawson’s adaptation to the machinery.
RED BULL CANNOT AFFORD TO IGNORE THE WARNING
Red Bull has reportedly had one of the strongest internal-combustion engines in the field, with the FIA having twice determined that its ICE performance was at the top of the 2026 power-unit field. But raw engine output is only part of the equation.
A power unit must deliver its performance in a way the driver can exploit.
That could be the real significance of Lawson’s Monza comments. If the New Zealander can identify weaknesses in the RB22’s behaviour that Red Bull can address, his feedback could become valuable to the team’s development programme. If the problems remain unresolved, however, Lawson’s already uncertain future becomes even more complicated.
With his 2027 seat still far from guaranteed, Lawson needs results — but he also needs a car he can trust. Monza may ultimately prove whether Red Bull can give him both.
