Lawson collides and concedes P16 in scrappy Bahrain GP

In an “action-packed” Bahrain Grand Prix, Liam Lawson was on the receiving end of two costly penalties for causing two separate collisions, leaving the RB driver to salvage a P16 finish from a race that “just didn’t quite come together”.

Launching from 17th on the grid, Lawson’s medium tyre selection left him stagnant as he charged to the first braking zone, not able to put the pressure on his teammate across the opening lap after Isack Hadjar’s poor start.

Holding out on track, the RB driver soon found himself tracking within the top ten as the first round of pitstops unfolded, remaining steady ahead of his first stop on Lap 15.

After a near-miss with Oliver Bearman in the pitlane, Lawson rejoined the race in P19, armed with the hard compound tyre.

He trailed closely behind Lance Stroll for his entire second stint, sitting just a few tenths shy of the crucial DRS advantage before growing impatient, lunging down the outside of Turn 2 and making contact with the Aston Martin.

Lawson was handed a five-second time penalty for causing the collision, with the debris from the incident contributing to a Safety Car on Lap 32.

The Kiwi’s penalty was minimised under the SC conditions, with Lawson pulling into the pits for his second stop before rejoining in P16.

When the race got back underway, he struggled to make up ground on the soft tyre, with his over-ambition getting the better of the #30 when another late lunge down the inside of Turn 1 resulted in contact with Nico Hulkenberg.

The Kiwi was handed a ten-second time penalty for causing a second collision, costing him greatly when he took the chequered flag in P13 because it resulted in a four-place demotion.

“The race was action packed,” Lawson said.

“We had good speed but just couldn’t really use it and the only way I could overtake was lunging quite late. 

“I wasn’t intentionally touching others, but obviously the stewards made their decision with the penalties, so we’ll have to review the incidents.

“It’s a shame we don’t have the results to show us pushing forwards as a team, as the car was really fast in Qualifying and we didn’t get to show it. 

“The car was also fast in the race, but there’s obviously only so much you can do starting from the back. 

“It was just a race that just didn’t quite come together.”

When the ten-second time penalty was added onto his allotted race time, Lawson fell to down the order into P17.

As a small reprieve, the Kiwi was later promoted one position due to Nico Hulkenberg’s post-race disqualification for excessive skid block wear on his Sauber, seeing his Bahrain Grand Prix weekend reflecting a P16 finish. 

As for Isack Hadjar, the Frenchman also failed to have a points-scoring impact on the race, rounding out his weekend in Sakhir with a P13 finish.

Acknowledging that the team’s Bahrain outing “wasn’t as smooth as we would have liked”, Team Principal Laurent Mekies refused to shy away from the positives as he praised Hadjar and Lawson.

“On the driver front, there are positives,” he said.

“It was another strong weekend for Isack; maybe not as smooth as he would have liked but he showed some serious speed this weekend for only his 4th race in Formula One. 

“For Liam, it may not have showed on the time sheet, but he made a very significant step forward compared to Japan. 

“The pace is there, building up step by step. 

“We look forward to being able to piece it all together as we go racing again next week in Jeddah.”

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is just around the corner, with the grid jumping ship to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit across April 18-20 to round out the first triple-header of the season.

Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

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