Liam Lawson Assigned New Race Engineer for F1 2026

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Liam Lawson will enter the 2026 Formula 1 season with a new race engineer at the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team, following an internal reorganisation of the team’s engineering structure ahead of the new campaign.

After working with Ernesto Desiderio following his return from Red Bull Racing after the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, effectively switching engineering crews with Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson has now been paired with Alexandre Iliopoulos for the upcoming season.

Iliopoulos brings long-standing experience within the Faenza-based organisation, having worked across its various identities including Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri, and Racing Bulls since joining in October 2016. He began his Formula 1 career as a trackside tyre performance engineer before progressing to performance engineer in January 2020, and later being promoted to senior performance engineer in January 2024.

Prior to entering Formula 1, Iliopoulos spent five years with Michelin between 2011 and 2016, developing expertise in tyre behaviour and performance. His technical background includes academic qualifications in aeronautics, highlighted by a Master of Science degree from Imperial College London, a skill set considered valuable as Formula 1 prepares for a major regulatory shift.

Lawson’s new team-mate for the 2026 season, Arvid Lindblad, will work alongside experienced race engineer Pierre Hamelin. Hamelin has previously partnered with Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo, Lawson himself, and Isack Hadjar in a race engineering role.

In addition to his work with Racing Bulls, Hamelin also contributed to the development of Max Verstappen during the Dutch driver’s rookie Formula 1 season with Toro Rosso in 2015. That experience is expected to be particularly relevant as Lindblad begins his first full campaign at the top level.

The revised driver and engineer pairings reflect Racing Bulls’ strategic focus on technical continuity and communication efficiency as the team prepares for the 2026 Formula 1 season. With sweeping regulation changes approaching, the structure is designed to support car development while ensuring stability on both sides of the garage.