Racing Bulls left the Austrian Grand Prix with another reason to celebrate – and another issue to sort out behind closed doors between its drivers.
The Faenza-based outfit secured its third consecutive double top-10 finish as Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad brought home ninth and 10th respectively.
But while the result strengthened the team's impressive run of form, the race itself featured an uncomfortable twist when a communication breakdown saw the teammates fighting each other despite instructions to avoid exactly that.
The incident sparked an angry radio message from Lawson during the race and left the Kiwi admitting afterward that the situation had not unfolded as planned.
Lawson erupts unexpected overtake
Having qualified ninth and 10th, Lawson and Lindblad spent the opening phase of the race running nose-to-tail. Lawson, however, had been instructed to manage overheating brakes and was assured he would not come under attack from his teammate while doing so.
That promise quickly unraveled.
Following the first round of pit stops, Lindblad overtook Lawson and remained ahead throughout the middle stint before strategy eventually restored the original order when Lawson stopped a lap earlier for fresh tyres and reclaimed ninth place.
But early on, Lindblad’s attack did not go down well with Lawson, who told his race engineer on the radio: “That’s the last f*****g time I'm listening!”
Explaining what happened in the media pen after the race, Lawson made it clear he believed both drivers had entered the race with an agreed plan.
“We had a strategy and executed it in the first stint,” he said. “And then we were trying to manage, or I was told to manage brakes, and I wouldn't be attacked. And then I was.
“It was not exactly planned, so I just made sure to stay close in that second stint, and made the pass again after the second stop.”
Asked whether the incident would require a conversation with his young teammate, Lawson did not dismiss the idea.
“Probably, I would say.”
Despite the frustration, he insisted the final outcome still represented the maximum available to Racing Bulls.
“I'm happy, we had a great day. P9, I think with all the top teams finishing, that's really the maximum we can do. So yeah, I'm happy with today.”
Lindblad insists there are no hard feelings
While Lawson acknowledged the misunderstanding, Lindblad was equally eager to play down any suggestion of lingering tension inside the garage.
The rookie believed the race had been a positive learning experience despite the confusion surrounding team orders.
“Overall, it's been a good weekend,” he said. “I gave it a good go at the start of the second stint, and got ahead of him.
“I was ahead for the whole of the second stint, and then the team boxed him a lap earlier for the last one, so he undercut me, came out ahead, because of the new tyres.
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“I kind of saw that coming. I thought they were going to do that, but that's fine. It doesn't really matter. I had some fun, I got stuck in. I think I did a good race.
“So I think for me, honestly, I'm more going to look at myself, what I could have managed better, because of a few things, just on the driving side, on a pace side, I think I could have managed better. So, I'll just focus on that, continue to learn, but I think I did a good race today.”
Once Lawson moved back ahead during the final stint, Lindblad confirmed he respected the team's instructions.
"Yeah, I thought I'd wait and play it a bit differently, and see if I had an advantage at the end, I could have a go, and honestly, I was actually doing pretty well in the whole of the last stint,” he said.
“I just lost quite a lot more time with the blue flags, because I was running, around 1.5 [behind] or less for most of the stint, and it creeped up a little bit at the end because of the blue flags.”
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And while Lawson's radio message hinted at simmering frustration, Lindblad preferred to focus on the bigger picture when asked whether he was satisfied with how everything played out.
“Finished P9 and P10, it worked out pretty well. There was no threat from behind,” he concluded.
The confusion between Racing Bulls drivers may have briefly threatened to derail the team's afternoon, but by the chequered flag, the Faenza squad had banked another valuable double points finish—even if the post-race debrief was likely to be more animated than usual.
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