RACING BULLS 2026 FILMING DAY: DELAYS AND PROBLEMS SHORTEN RUN PLAN
On January 20th and 21st, Racing Bulls took its 2026 challenger to its home track, Imola, which is around 25 minutes away by car from the team’s headquarters in Faenza.
The run plan publicly declared by the team to news outlets was around 43 laps (215 km). Three laps were scheduled for Tuesday to prepare the engine and avoid failures on Wednesday, as 40 laps were planned for the second day.
However, the first day was marked by a slight delay. Arvid Lindblad spun at the Villeneuve chicane and the car had to be towed back to the pits. The original plan was two out-laps followed by a return to the pits for Lawson, while Lindblad was scheduled for only one.
Lindblad encountered wet patches at the entry of Turn 4 and spun. No damage was done to the car, and he returned to the track for an out-lap around half an hour later.
Rain was present during the first day, including at the time of Lindblad’s mistake.
Day two saw a change of plans
On day two, temperatures were forecast to stay between 0°C and 5°C, with no sun throughout the session.
Unfortunately, the low overnight temperatures caused a significant amount of ice to form around the track. In the meantime, Arvid Lindblad completed four laps in a Volkswagen Passat Sedan, with Lawson as a passenger.
After several inspections and laps completed by the race director in the Lamborghini Urus Safety Car, Liam Lawson went out on track for his first lap at 11:36 CET. After returning to the pits, he completed another outing of three laps, followed by a further run of two laps.
The morning session ended at 12:45, with six laps completed in total.
The track reopened for the afternoon session at 13:45, but Lawson did not return to the track until 14:10, completing another three laps. His day ended after a total of nine laps.
A two-hour stoppage due to possible technical issues (as reported by insiders at the track to Motorsportsclicks) followed. Arvid Lindblad returned to the car at 16:15 for an out-in lap, and then went back out at 16:35 for a 20-lap stint. This included a start procedure practice at the end, followed by an in-lap, bringing his total to 21 laps.
In total, 30 laps were completed by both cars during the filming day. If the laps completed with the Volkswagen are included, as the team reportedly counted them, the total rises to 34 laps: nine by Lawson and 25 by Lindblad. This meant the team did not reach its planned target for the first 2026 filming day, with ice on the track and possible technical issues affecting the running.
Share this content:
