A Wrap Around the Track: Racing Bulls Edition
Cover image from Visa Cashapp Racing Bulls.
Red Bull Racing's junior team, has had an interesting season with many highs and lows. They placed 6th overall with 92 points in the 2025 season, which is double the points they had in the 2024 season where they placed 8th overall with 46 points. They get a grade of C+ because of their somewhat above average performance. They were a competitive midfield team and were in a decent amount of race battles with Haas and Williams but rarely competitive enough against Aston Martin or Mercedes. This season was an improvement from previous seasons with the help of technical improvements, better strategy calls, and two drivers who found their footing with this car.
That car for the 2025 season was the VCARB 02 and its redesign was heavily focused on smooth aerodynamic surfaces. Work was done on the front wing, the main body and sidepods, as well as the floor and airbox to allow for smoother airflow and reduced aerodynamic drag. Some of the more technical changes are based on Red Bull’s 2024 RB20 and with the team moving into a new aerodynamics facility. The car has seen considerable improvement. But, the team and drivers have noticed some issues with the top speed that has affected some other parts of the car as well. Drivers have stated that the top speed is lower than other teams, making it difficult to overtake and getting the drivers trapped in DRS trains. DRS trains are when multiple drivers are within overtaking range of each other on a straight but cannot do so because there is too little of a gap between the car they are overtaking and the car in front of them. This prevented the drivers from moving up the places in certain races. Overall, the car’s performance was much better than previous years, and we can't wait to see how Racing Bulls will perform next year.
Liam Lawson:
Liam Lawson was Red Bull Racing's second seat driver, but after two subpar performances in the beginning of the season, he was moved back to Racing Bulls where he was the first seat driver. Lawson placed 14th overall in the Driver’s Championship in his first full Formula One season. His season started off pretty rough but he improved over the course of the season and even placed fifth once.
Lawson’s season started off pretty rough with a DNF in Australia, the season opener, and then a 12th place finish in China; after which he was moved back to the Racing Bulls team. This decision from the senior management at Red Bull really affected Liam’s confidence and because he missed pre-season testing with the Racing Bulls car he was forced to play catch-up in learning how to drive that specific car. Lawson continued to struggle for most of the season with only a few random point placings. Liam’s biggest weak point was qualifying where he consistently got out in Q1 which really held him back the rest of the race weekend. He had a total of 5 DNF’s throughout the season but did improve more toward the end with more consistent higher placings, not always in points but better than the beginning of the season.
Liam Lawson also had some highs this season; one of them being a fifth place finish in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Lawson had an outstanding qualifying, starting P3 on the grid. The race itself was very intense with Lawson spending most of the race on the defense against both the Mercedes cars. Lawson did lose both places to the Mercedes but not without a good fight. He continued to hold good pace the rest of the race and was able to hold back the rest of the cars even without DRS. About two months before Azerbaijan Lawson placed 6th during the Austrian Grand Prix; qualifying in the same spot. Lawson ran a one-stop strategy for the race and nearly crashed out on Lap 1 Turn 3 with him and Kimi Antonelli touching wheels after Antonelli’s car locked up. But he thankful didn’t have any lasting damage and spent the rest of the race defending against Fernando Alonso who also had a one-stop strategy. He had some consistent strengths throughout the season that can be seen well in these two races. He is a solid defensive driver and can hold his own against most drivers and his ability to manage his tire wear is also showcased in both of these races. These two races really showed Lawson’s ability as a driver and hopefully 2026 is a better year for him.
Isack Hadjar:
Isack Hadjar placed 12th overall with 51 points in the Drivers Championship in his rookie season. He was also named Rookie of the Season. He started off the season really rough; crashing out during the formation lap in Australia but he really improved over the season and even had a podium finish.
Hadjar biggest issues were with car handling; Red Bull cars are notoriously difficult to drive and the VCARD 02 took much inspiration from the 2024 Red Bull car. Hadjar also mentioned that as the race went on he struggled with rear-end stability or a lack of rear-end stability. These car control issues sometimes caused crashes such as the spin in Imola during free practice and more. Hadjar had one DNS in Australia and two DNF during the British Grand Prix and the Qatar Grand Prix. The British Grand Prix exit was caused by a rear-end collision with Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes. This crash was caused by the wet conditions and the lack of visibility but the Qatar incident was caused by a technical issue with the front-wing that caused a puncture with tire. This happened pretty late in the race and Hadjar had good pace for most of the race prior to this incident. Between the many technical issues, intense external pressure and it being only his rookie season Isack Hadjar did have his struggles but he also did surprisingly well, with it being his rookie season as well as driving a notoriously difficult car, and showed great potential for the upcoming season.
Isack Hadjar also had some pretty big highs this season as well; one of them being a third place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix. He qualified in 4th place and stated that it was his best lap of the season. Hadjar held good pace the whole time and was right behind Max Verstrappen for most of the race. Lando Norris retired due to an oil leak and Hadjar was able to move up to the podium but his good pace throughout the race was what led to such a good finish as well. He also had other races such as Monaco, Spain and Las Vegas where he placed either 6th or 7th. In Monaco he qualified in 5th but ended in 6th place after two early pit-stops and a little help from his teammate Liam Lawson. In Spain Hadjar qualified 9th but was able to gain two places to 7th place and finally in Las Vegas he qualified in 8th and again gained two places to 6th. These were his top races for the season and hopefully we can see him grow even more in the 2026 season.
