Liam Lawson’s Red Bull debut proved challenging, as mistakes and tire struggles saw him eliminated in Q1 at Albert Park.
Liam Lawson’s first outing as a Red Bull Racing driver didn’t go as planned. Filling in for Sergio Perez, the New Zealander had a rough qualifying session, making costly mistakes on his flying laps.
After missing Free Practice 3 due to an engine issue, Lawson struggled to find his rhythm. A series of errors saw him eliminated in Q1, placing only 18th, ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Haas.
“Everything Fell Apart”
“We knew qualifying would be tough after the issues in FP3,” Lawson admitted. “The first few laps were supposed to be challenging, but we were hoping to build into the session.”
“Unfortunately, I made a mistake on my second lap, and everything fell apart from there.”
“The final lap was solid until the last sector, where I suddenly lost a lot of grip. I wasn’t expecting it, but at the end of the day, it’s still my mistake.”
“Missing Q2 and Q3 doesn’t help, but I should never have gone off track.”
His best lap time, a 1’17’’094, saw him miss Q2 by just under six hundredths of a second.
Looking for a Turnaround
Lawson believes he was on pace to improve:
“Before Turn 9, we were half a second up. I think we would have continued progressing in Q2. It’s frustrating, but it’s on me.”
“The tires were degrading fast under this kind of push. We’ve had this issue all weekend, but I didn’t think it would be this bad over a single lap.”
With Albert Park being a tough track for overtaking, Lawson is now hoping for unpredictable weather to shake things up.
“I haven’t done many laps with heavy fuel, but Max is in a strong position, so we’ve made progress. The weather will be changeable tomorrow—we’ll see.”
Horner Backs His Driver
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner defended Lawson, acknowledging the difficult circumstances.
“It was a tough day for him—missing FP3 put him on the back foot straight away.”
“His first run was decent, considering how little track time he had. But then a lock-up on his second run, another mistake on the third, and the pressure just kept piling on. You can’t judge him on today’s performance—I hope he can bounce back in the race.”
“He’s got a great teammate in Max. Judging Liam now would be unfair—he’s had a really tough weekend. Let’s see what happens in the race. As he gets more seat time, I think he’ll start to find his feet.”
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Lawson’s Rough Start: Costly Errors in Red Bull Debut Lawson’s Rough Start: Costly Errors in Red Bull Debut
