Lawson P17 on RB return: “We’ll keep chipping away”

Returning to the Racing Bulls outfit, Liam Lawson didn’t quite find his “groove” during his first race back as he finished P17, but the Japanese Grand Prix weekend marked an important step in his journey.

Achieving his highest qualifying result of the season, Lawson’s proximity to Yuki Tsunoda on the grid became a stark reminder of what might have been for Red Bull, with the irony of them lining up alongside each other not lost.

Lawson, once dropped by the team, now back in the mix and haunting them as they rounded the first turn, wasn’t able to outpace Tsunoda across the first lap, instead losing a position to his replacement when they crossed the line to start Lap 2 of 53.

The home hero gave no assistance to Lawson, instantly breaking free from DRS threat as he set off on his own mission, leaving the RB driver to fend for himself. 

“Firstly, a massive well done to Isack for getting his first points in F1 today, he did a great job,” Lawson said.

“On our side, it was a tough start, Lap 1 was pretty tricky; I went a little bit wide in Turn 13, and then it was just a train from there. 

“It was hard to overtake, but I don’t think from where we were it would have been possible to move from there.”

Both Lawson and Carlos Sainz ran an extended strategy, lasting on the medium compound tyre for a whopping 33 laps before opting for a late charge on the soft compound. 

The Kiwi rejoined the race in sixteenth place, with the Williams driver hot on his tail as he worked the C3 up to temperature.

Sainz didn’t remain in his mirrors for long, however, passing Lawson just two laps after their joint pitstop before charging off into the distance.

Lawson caught the rear of Nico Hulkenberg, however, it was under unfavourable circumstances as he soon realised he was at the centre of an unmoving DRS train, ending the race in a stagnant P17.

On a positive note for the team, RB took home four points in Japan with Isack Hadjar converting his top ten start into his first-ever points-finish in Formula 1, a nice reward after—uncomfortable—complications during Qualifying on Saturday.

“There’s been positives to take from this weekend, in general, the car has been pretty good, obviously it takes some time to adjust and get used to it,” the #30 said.

“It’s been a pretty crazy few weeks and months, I just want to get into a groove and get racing. 

“We get to go again next week with a new style of track, so we’ll keep chipping away.”

On his driver’s first weekend back in the VCARB saddle, Team Principal Laurent Mekies said there were “plenty of positives” for the Kiwi. 

“He had to learn the car live during the race, with only three free practice sessions to prepare himself; he was just one-tenth off Q3 yesterday,” Mekies said.

“With such a tight field, and no happenings providing opportunities, it was not easy to move up the field. 

“With a full race distance now under his belt, we are sure he will be stepping up in Bahrain.”

The second race weekend of the triple-header will kick off with FP1 at 21:30 AEST on Friday, as the Bahrain Grand Prix runs across April 11-13.

Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

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