Lawson finishes in top six
Liam Lawson has produced his best Formula 1 result after finishing sixth in the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
The Kiwi driver started the June 30 (NZ time) race sixth on the grid and was in the same position at the chequered flag after holding off a challenge from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
The result moves Lawson up to 15th in the drivers’ championship and shifts his Racing Bulls team into sixth in the constructors’ standings.
It also exceeded his previous best F1 performance when he came eighth at the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
“It was a great weekend, and it feels good to execute everything well,” says Lawson, pictured.
“It’s been a tough season so far, with a lot of potential, and in this race, we were quick where it mattered and managed to see it through.”
He managed to avoid being hit at the second turn on lap one after Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli locked up when braking and hit defending world champion and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, forcing both to retire from the race.
Lawson also went on to finish ahead of his teammate Isack Hadjar, who came home in 12th spot.
“After the first lap, I thought it might be over, but the team made a brave call with the one-stop strategy. It worked out perfectly,” adds Lawson.
“Full credit to them, they’ve been working incredibly hard behind the scenes, and I’m super proud.
“The car was really fast all weekend. We’re constantly pushing and making small adjustments to make it more comfortable.
“The goal now is to carry this momentum through the rest of the season. We need to take the positives, keep fighting and keep scoring points.”
Lando Norris won the Austrian race ahead of his McLaren partner Oscar Piastri. Next were the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell clinching fifth for Mercedes.
Laurent Mekies, Racing Bulls team principal, was full of praise for Lawson’s efforts over the weekend after starting from the third row of the grid “thanks to an exceptional performance [in qualifying] that showcased his speed”.
“It’s never easy to start in a new team midseason, and he needed time to get used to our car," he says.
“Yesterday’s great laps show the progress he is doing, together with the team.”
Mekies says the subsequent race was an “incredible fight on a burning hot track” and notes the team’s prospects looked bleak after the first lap when both their cars were involved in incidents and lost positions.
“From that point onward both Liam and Isack drove an incredible one-stop race, whilst most of the field elected to two-stop, and this allowed us to fight our way back to the very top of the midfield.
“The pace and the race execution were brilliant, Liam was unstoppable and defended for 70 laps to Fernando.”
The British Grand Prix this weekend is next on the F1 calendar, with the race taking place on July 7 (NZ time).
