The first Formula 1 race for Liam Lawson was everything but beginner-friendly. Those in charge at Red Bull and Alpha Tauri know that too
Christian Horner and Franz Tost are full of praise for Ricciardo replacement Liam Lawson after his solid Formula One debut at rainy Zandvoort. He tried out the car in the dry for the first time in the laps leading up to the grid and joined the rush to change to intermediates after the start.
One of the early visitors to the pits, he turned the intermediate fastest lap on the third lap of the race and was 11th eleventh. However, he received a ten-second penalty for AlphaTauri blocking Kevin Magnussen’s pit exit, with Lawson double-stopping behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
After an eventful afternoon that saw Lawson overtake the stumbling Ferrari of Charles Leclerc at one point, he was eventually classified 13th of the 17 cars that saw the chequered flag.
Even Max Verstappen overtook
“I mean, the poor guy was put in a car he’s never driven before. That’s in wet and dry conditions, everything was thrown at him. I think he did pretty well,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
The Briton added: “And he overtook Max [Verstappen] in his outlap when he had changed to intermediate tyres at the end. To finish a race like that, with the lack of experience – I think he did very well in very difficult circumstances.”
AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost insists it is too early to draw conclusions about his long-term prospects. “He did a good job because it was really difficult,” “He had to go out in wet conditions and there were not so many laps in the dry. He didn’t make any mistakes. A very good job. “
“Learned a lot during the race “
Despite this, Tost appeals to the Kiwi’s patience: “He still has to wait a bit. Getting into Formula 1 is one story, how the driver then develops and improves his performance is another. You have to wait and see.” Lawson himself admits that the afternoon was about gaining experience of the mixed conditions.
“The conditions were very changeable. When we went onto the grid it started to rain, so that was definitely not the best feeling. But during the race, of course, I learned a lot,” said the 21-year-old.
“The first part was not the best. We lost a lot of time because we both pitted at the same time, then the penalty. Of course, that’s all part of it. But in the second half I got a feeling for the softs on free, later also for the intermediates. I felt much more comfortable than yesterday. “
Zandvoort for Lawson “a good learning experience “
But the basic tone remains positive: “You always look back, and I will think about it. And there are definitely things I would have liked to have done better, but I think I’m reasonably happy with it.”
On his brief duel with Leclerc, he says: “Yeah, it was quite eventful to be honest! I think he was struggling quite a bit on the softs. When I overtook him, he overtook me back on the straight.”
All in all, the chaotic Grand Prix was a good lesson: “It was a bit frustrating, but of course it’s good to gain experience. I feel like I experienced every situation in this race: multiple pit stops, wheel-to-wheel, rain, dry. So it was a good learning experience. “
