Lawson ‘very happy’ to outpace Verstappen as momentum grows

Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson added another milestone to his growing F1 résumé at the Hungarian Grand Prix, scoring points for the second race in succession – and this time, finishing ahead of none other than reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

In just his first full season on the grid, the 22-year-old is developing into a solid and consistent racer. Starting ninth at the Hungaroring – one spot behind Verstappen but just ahead of his highly rated RB teammate Isack Hadjar – Lawson flawlessly managed his tyres, strategy, and pressure to come home eighth, while Verstappen finished 3.2 seconds behind in P9.

It marks the first time Lawson has outpaced the Red Bull ace in a race where both saw the chequered flag. But the achievement was not totally unexpected by the Kiwi once he got a hold on Verstappen’s tyre degradation.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Lawson admitted when asked if he expected to beat Verstappen.

“At the start, he was very fast and he got me on the first lap, but then they struggled with tyres, so I was kind of hoping it would be the same [towards the end of the race].”

Finding His Rhythm

After a measured start, Lawson remained composed while Verstappen pitted early and fell to P16. Lawson, by contrast, extended his first stint on the medium rubber all the way to lap 40 of 7, leveraging the Racing Bulls’ growing strength in tyre management.

He then rejoined with enough pace to fend off Verstappen’s late charge.

“So I knew if I kept him there for a few laps, maybe he would start to drop - and that's more or less what happened,” Lawson explained.

“The car has been very good recently, especially in races, and our long run pace has been very good, and we have a decent handle on the tyres, which is tough in the races.”

• Read also: Stewards clear Verstappen in Hamilton clash at Hungarian GP

The result builds on Lawson’s impressive eighth-place finish in Belgium and marks his third points finish in four races – a run of form kickstarted by a front suspension upgrade introduced in Austria.

“Had we started a bit higher up, we honestly had the potential to finish higher as well, so that's probably the learning from the weekend,” Lawson added, reflecting on the small margins that define modern F1.

“In the car, you feel like you want to undercut the guys in front of you, but obviously you are going to come out into traffic, and on a small track like this, it is quite hard [to pass].”

“The speed was good towards the end of each stint, we were coming on strong, and so yeah, I am very happy.”

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