Lawson among the points

Liam Lawson is ninth in the F1 drivers’ standings for 2026 after finishing in the points of the sprint race and grand prix in China over the weekend.

He claimed seventh spot in both events at the Shanghai International Circuit and credits his Racing Bulls team’s strategy for the successes, saying “we did everything right”.

Lawson’s efforts delivered his first points of the season and he has eight overall. He is one place ahead of his teammate Arvid Lindblad, who is 10th in the drivers’ standings with four points.

The New Zealander showed some impressive pace in Saturday’s sprint race to collect two points for finishing seventh and followed it up with another good showing in Sunday’s grand prix.

Starting 14th on the grid he advanced seven positions throughout the race to earn six points despite some bad luck when he pitted one lap before the safety car came out. 

“I’m really happy with our [grand prix] result. To be honest, we didn’t quite expect it, but our pace was strong towards the end,” says Lawson. 

“We had a poorly timed safety car, and at that moment I thought our race might be over. 

“It turned out to be a really enjoyable race and we managed to pull off a few overtakes. Bringing it home in P7 feels great. 

“Full credit to the team from a strategy standpoint, we did everything right this weekend and securing two point finishes shows how well the team executed.”

He adds the team will keep pushing to find more speed for the next F1 round in Japan, from March 27-29, “and hopefully we can fight even further up the grid”.

Mercedes dominated the action in China with championship leader George Russell winning the sprint race and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli taking the chequered flag in the grand prix.