Lawson gains advantage over Lindblad in Hungary with split strategy
Racing Bulls’ strategic decisions in Hungary
The Racing Bulls team employed a split-strategy approach at the Hungaroring in Hungary, which proved crucial in maximising their points haul. The competition between teammates Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad has been a notable aspect of the 2026 season, with both drivers scoring points in the recent race.
Lawson demonstrated an early advantage during practice sessions, while Lindblad’s preparation was hampered by a power unit change in FP3. Despite this, Lindblad qualified in P9, two positions ahead of Lawson, with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg between them.
At the start of the race, Lawson quickly moved past both his rivals, including George Russell, to secure an initial eighth position. Lindblad acknowledged that his first lap was not ideal, stating, “It wasn’t a great Lap 1. So obviously I’m not the happiest with that. But I’ll look into it. Then from there, I think pace was quite similar. Maybe he was a tiny bit quicker.”
Strategic calls and on-track battles
Lawson initially held a lead but lost time while navigating the battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton after the frontrunners’ initial pit stops. Lawson commented on the situation, saying, “I was just trying not to get in the way and be too much involved. I wasn’t getting lapped, so I didn’t have to let them go. I didn’t expect them to go by. Obviously, I saw the late lunge. It ended up costing me so much time behind them, which at the time was a bit stressful. But it was a good move. It was a very Max move!”
The initial plan for both drivers involved a one-stop strategy with a long first stint on medium tyres, requiring careful tyre management. However, Hulkenberg’s performance influenced the team’s decisions. After Hulkenberg pitted, Racing Bulls reacted by bringing Lindblad in on Lap 20, followed by Lawson a lap later, with Lawson maintaining his position ahead.
Hulkenberg’s continued presence prompted Racing Bulls to implement a split strategy. Lawson made a second pit stop on Lap 42, while Lindblad remained on track to pursue the original one-stop plan. This one-stop approach was also adopted by Gabriel Bortoleto in the other Audi.
Lindblad had expressed concerns about the medium tyres, particularly after recent hot races. He mentioned, “I don’t know what Liam was asking, but I was saying I think it’s going to be a two. So maybe I helped him out! But yeah, I was saying I think it could be a two, and they need to be on it. Even before the race, I was telling them that I think it’s going to be a two. The default plan was a one, but we had it in the background.”
He further elaborated on his tyre concerns: “So I just got that feeling, and then on the medium I was going pretty slow in the beginning, and they still weren’t very nice, and we ended up boxing on Lap 21. It was going to be a 50-lap stint.”
Lawson’s late-race performance
On soft tyres, Lawson demonstrated stronger pace than Lindblad, who was on older hard tyres. Lawson successfully overtook Lindblad on Lap 62 to claim P8. Hulkenberg also passed Lindblad, moving him down to P10 after Lindblad completed a 49-lap stint on hard tyres.
Lindblad acknowledged that his one-stop strategy did not yield the desired outcome. He stated, “It was a bit of a shame the one-stop didn’t work, but I fully understand from the team’s point of view. It was a big question mark going to the race. Then we saw Nico trigger the two, and we decided to split the strategy with the cars, which made sense, because if the hard hung on better, I would have looked like a hero being P8. And unfortunately, it didn’t. So Liam was the one that maximised.”
Lawson expressed satisfaction with the team’s decision to change the plan. He commented, “We didn’t plan on two-stopping, so that was something that was a surprise. I’d been managing the first part of that hard stint, and I could feel that there was something going on behind, because just the communication with Alex [Iliopoulos], he was mentioning the Audis, but not saying too much. And then out of nowhere, it was push for me to box.”
He concluded, “Obviously a long stint on the soft at the end. But it was a great call from the team, and the car’s been really, really strong today.” Lawson sits tenth in the drivers’ standings with 39 points, just three points behind Pierre Gasly of Alpine.
The Hungary Grand Prix is the final race before Formula 1 enters a month-long summer break.
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Source: formula1.com
