An incredulous Liam Lawson surpassed his own expectations in last weekend’s US Grand Prix where the RB charger celebrated his return to Formula 1 with a stunning run into the points.
The 22-year-old returnee, replacing Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull’s sister outfit, was facing an uphill battle in the 56-lap race at The Circuit of the Americas, with multiple grid penalties for numerous changes on his VCARB 01 forcing him to start his race at the very back of the field.
With limited practice given the weekend’s Sprint format, the New Zealander had little time to get comfortable in the car.
However, Lawson took full advantage of the chaotic start, making up an incredible six positions on the opening lap. Thereafter, a one-stop strategy and consistent pace throughout the race allowed him to finish P9, five positions ahead of his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
“Holy shit, how did we do that?” Lawson said over the radio to race engineer Pierre Hamelin after crossing the checkered flag.
“You were fast, this is how we did it,” responded Hamelin.
Speaking later on to Sky Sports F1, Lawson credited his strong start for laying the foundation for his remarkable drive into the points.
“The start was the most important part. We made up four or five spots on the first lap,” Lawson explained.
“To be honest, strategy-wise, we were just planning on taking it easy at the start but everything happened and opportunities opened up.”
©RB
Despite his lack of recent experience in F1, Lawson found himself in the right position at the right time. Running a one-stop strategy, he steadily moved up the order as the race progressed.
“I knew from that point we were in a good position on a good tyre and it just came to us.
“I think Haas this weekend were very strong. I don’t know if we would have been able to beat them in the race having started in the top 10.
“To finish in the points from where we started is very cool.”
Lawson’s result was even more remarkable considering his self-admitted "rustiness" after being out of an F1 car – in racing conditions – for so long.
“I definitely felt rusty,” he admitted. “No matter how much training or preparation that you do, nothing prepares you for driving one of these cars.
“Honestly, I’ve worked harder than ever over the last 12 months physically to be ready for this, but we did very limited testing as well.”
©RB
With just one practice session heading into qualifying, Lawson acknowledged the difficulty of quickly getting up to speed.
“It was hard, and Friday was a battle with one practice session going into quali. It’s never a nice feeling not feeling completely comfortable to throw the car into a corner like you want to.
“It was tough, but I wanted to get to the end of the weekend and feel comfortable and I think we were able to do that.”
In the end, Lawson’s race in Austin was not only a remarkable performance but a testament to his ability to seize the opportunity when it presented itself.
Despite the setbacks and limited preparation, he proved once again that his talent is worthy of a spot on the Formula 1 grid.
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