Lawson among F1 points

Liam Lawson finished eighth at the Belgian Grand Prix and collected four points to move him up to 14th in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship standings.

The Kiwi started ninth on the grid for the Racing Bulls team at Spa-Francorchamps but had edged up a place come the chequered flag for his third points-scoring race of the 2025 season.

The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took first and second, respectively, in the July 28 race (NZ time), with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completing the podium.

Drivers had to contend with a drying track as the race started after a 90-minute delay for heavy rain and two laps behind the safety car.

“I really enjoyed today,” says Lawson, pictured. “Often in those conditions you just want to survive, so I’m very happy for the team and how everything came together. 

“It’s always tricky when you cross over to a dry tyre when it’s damp, but the car was fast and in clean air we had great pace. 

“A lot of work goes into little details each weekend when the championship is this tight, so now we need to keep the momentum rolling forward.”

Lawson was the second-best performer from the Red Bull stable, with defending champion Max Verstappen finishing fourth for Oracle Red Bull Racing.

Yuki Tsunoda, who replaced Lawson alongside Verstappen earlier this season, was 13th and Isack Hadjar, in the other Racing Bulls car, finished 20th.

Alan Permane, Racing Bulls team principal, says: “Liam had a near-perfect race, he managed his tyres exceptionally well, both on the intermediates and on the dry tyre. 

“He was strong and able to comfortably pull away from [Gabriel] Bortoleto behind and was very happy with the car overall.”

Perman adds the team expects its cars to perform well at the next race in Hungary on August 4 (NZ time) and will target both its drivers finishing in the points.