Lawson looking to savour 'full build up' to Monza

Even among the rarefied ranks of Formula 1 drivers, few men have ever experienced a weekend quite Like Liam Lawson went through last weekend in Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix.

He arrived in the Netherlands from Japan on Thursday expecting a normal few days as Red Bull's reserve driver - only to suddenly find himself called up to substitute for Daniel Ricciardo in the race after the AlphaTauri driver was injured in practice.

It was the whirlwind of a lifetime for the 21-year-old New Zealander, who had to get to grips with a car he'd never sat in before with just one practice before qualifying and the race, all in treacherous conditions that caught out even veteran drivers.

He survived and completed the race in P13, more than good enough for the team to confirm he would be staying in the seat for as long as it took Ricciardo to recover from surgery to his hand, with Singapore the earliest return possible.

It means Lawson will be on the grid again this weekend for AlphaTauri's home race, the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. It really doesn't get much more special for any new F1 driver than that.

"It’s going to be nice to have the full build-up to the weekend preparation-wise, being able to drive in all the practice sessions," Lawson said as he looked ahead to his next big challenge.

• Read also: Lawson says Dutch GP offered full array of ‘experiences’

"For Zandvoort, I flew in from Japan on Thursday night after racing there [in Japanese Super Formula] the previous weekend. Obviously, you’re always prepared as much as you can be for these things, but it’s so unlikely that you never really expect it to happen. And then it did!

"The support from the team was amazing. They did everything possible to prepare me as much as possible in the limited time we had," he said, adding that race engineer Pierre Hamelin had been "super supportive".

"In the race, we had every condition thrown at us, so that was difficult at the time," he admitted. "But also a good and positive experience, which has helped me get ready for Monza.

"Monza is a lot lower downforce, so I’ll have to get used to that," he explained. "Having not driven a F1 car there, it will still be quite a big challenge.

"It's more of a straightforward circuit and it’s one I’ve driven a few times already [in other championships]. Regardless there will be a lot more to learn, a lot to improve on, and a lot from Zandvoort to reflect on to use for this week.

"There are always things you can improve on," he continued. "I was in the simulator this week, and even though we didn’t need to do much playing around with the seat to make me comfortable in the car, there are a few things we have looked at for this weekend."

Unsurprisingly, Lawson is still catching his breath from the momentous, life changing events of last weekend which saw him achieve his life-long dream of becoming a bona fide official Formula 1 driver.

"Formula 1 is just such a different world: the difference between walking into the circuit on Friday compared to walking into the circuit on Saturday, I’ve never experienced anything like that specifically that level of attention.

“Going to Monza with an Italian team is also going to be special," he acknowledged. "Being a home race in Monza, I imagine it’s going to be even more significant there.

"It’s amazing to be doing this," he added, still sounding a bit dazed about how things had gone. "It’s been my dream since before I can even remember. It’s very cool to have this opportunity, and I’m just going to try to make the most of it.”

Lawson is currently in second place in the Japanese Superformula Championship, eight points behind Ritomo Miyata. There are two more rounds remaining but these aren't until the end of October when Ricciardo is expected to have reclaimed his F1 seat.

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