Racing Bulls Close In on F1’s Top Four

• Liam Lawson finished sixth and Arvid Lindblad seventh at the British Grand Prix, giving Racing Bulls a fourth straight double points score
• Lawson said the team is now closing in on Formula 1’s top four constructors after a run of upgrades introduced in Canada
• Lindblad scored points at his home race for the first time but lost ground after a deployment issue battling Max Verstappen at Turn 3

Liam Lawson believes Racing Bulls are closing in on Formula 1’s top four teams after the squad collected another double points score at the British Grand Prix, with the New Zealander taking sixth ahead of team mate Arvid Lindblad in seventh.

Racing Bulls have impressed at recent rounds, with the team looking like the pick of the midfield after introducing a significant upgrade package in Canada. That form has shown up in the results, with double points finishes in each of the last four Grands Prix.

Watch every race of the 2026 season live on Apple TV

Closing the Gap on Alpine

Racing Bulls are now just one point behind Alpine in the Teams’ Championship, with Lawson keen to build on the squad’s run of form. Lawson’s sixth place matched his result in Monaco, making it his joint-best finish of the season.

“Very happy,” Lawson said. “Obviously, when a lot of the top guys don’t score, we get a lot of bonus points in there which is great. But it is just a big credit to all the work that has been going in from the team to be now consistently in front of the midfield, which is really, really good.”

A Fast Car All Weekend

Lawson traced the result back through the weekend, pointing to strong pace in every session at Silverstone barring a stumble of his own in Qualifying.

“It definitely helps when you have a fast race car,” he said, adding that Racing Bulls were “just really strong” all weekend. “In quali yesterday we were potentially even stronger. For me in quali, we had some issues.”

He added: “Friday we were not far away from the front guys, and a few races ago we were miles away. So, we have definitely really improved things. And personally, I feel really good, putting a lot of work in off-track and enjoying it as well.”

Lawson also scored an impressive P7 in Canada, a result that came after Lindblad was unable to take the start there with a technical issue. With Belgium and Hungary still to come before the summer break, Lawson wants the run to continue.

“It has been a good run, obviously a couple more races coming up before the summer break so it would be nice to keep the momentum going,” he said.

Results like Silverstone add up to more than the points on the tally. Matching his season-best finish for a second time in the space of a few race weekends gives Lawson a run of form to point to heading into the final stretch before the summer break, with Racing Bulls’ upgraded car now giving him the tools to back up the pace he has shown throughout the year.

Lindblad’s Home Race, Mixed Feelings

While Lawson had nothing but praise for the weekend, there were more mixed emotions on the other side of the garage. Lindblad raced at his home Grand Prix for the first time, a circuit he had visited as a child, an experience he referenced throughout the weekend as one that shaped his path toward Formula 1. He now lays claim to being the youngest British points scorer in a British Grand Prix, having started a place ahead of Lawson, but a mid-race issue cost him ground.

“It was a great day and I’m really happy to have scored points here at my first home Grand Prix,” the teenager said. “Racing in front of my home crowd made the whole weekend even more special.”

Lindblad detailed the moment his race changed. “We had a good start to the race, but after going side by side with Max in Turn 3, I encountered a few issues with the deployment, which prevented me from maintaining the position,” he said. “It was a bit frustrating, but once again a nice team result and it’s amazing to keep this positive momentum going.”

He credited the team’s development work for the underlying pace. “The team have done a great job,” he said, pointing to the update introduced in Canada as the turning point: “we’ve had an even greater package, so massive credit to them.”

A Midfield Fight With Real Stakes

The battle for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship carries real value at the end of the season, and Racing Bulls have put themselves in the fight by turning their upgrade into consistent points across four straight rounds. Red Bull’s senior team sits fourth in the standings, with Alpine and Racing Bulls locked together behind them fighting to be the best of the rest. A run of results like Silverstone, where both cars scored while several rivals further up the grid did not, is exactly how that gap gets closed.

The Only Rookie on the Grid

Lindblad is the sole rookie on the 2026 grid, having made his Formula 1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix at the age of 18. Born in Virginia Water and racing under a British license, he arrived in Formula 1 with a reputation built through the junior categories, where he became the youngest ever race winner in both Formula 3 and Formula 2. He has been part of the Red Bull Junior Team from 2021 onward, the same pipeline that has produced Lawson and a string of other Racing Bulls and Red Bull drivers before him.

Scoring in five of his first nine Grands Prix is a strong return for a driver still adjusting to Formula 1 machinery, and all the more so for one racing alongside a team mate who is fast rediscovering the form that first caught Red Bull’s attention. Silverstone brought Lindblad his first home Grand Prix points as a Formula 1 driver, a landmark made only sweeter by the double points score alongside Lawson.

Built on an Upgrade That Delivered

The turnaround in form traces back to the upgrade package Racing Bulls introduced at the Canadian Grand Prix, which included a new front wing and a redesigned underfloor, and which both drivers credited with transforming the car. Before that, the team had gone through a run of quieter results. From Montreal onward, Racing Bulls have collected points with both cars in every round, a run that now stretches to four consecutive Grands Prix and has pulled the team level with Alpine at the front of the midfield battle.

Lawson’s own streak carries its own significance. His sixth place at Silverstone made him the first Racing Bulls driver to score points in five consecutive races in over a decade, last managed by Max Verstappen back in 2015, and only the third driver in the team’s history to manage it at all. Lawson has now scored more points in 2026 than he collected across the whole of last season, a run of form that has pulled him to within three points of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine in the drivers’ standings.

With two drivers delivering results, Racing Bulls look well placed to keep chasing down Alpine for top spot in the midfield, and perhaps to start closing in on the bigger four teams if the gaps keep narrowing the way they have across this season. The team will need that momentum to continue through Belgium and Hungary if they are to turn a good run into a genuine championship position before the summer break arrives.

Want more F1Chronicle.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for the best F1 news and analysis on the internet.

Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

More articles by Jack Renn →