Liam Lawson continues to press his case for a fulltime Formula One seat in the 2024 season.
In just his third race of deputising for injured AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo, the 21-year-old Kiwi has earned his first two points in Formula One with a ninth-placed finish at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Not only was it his first finish in the points, it was the best result any AlphaTauri driver had achieved all season. Red Bull’s sister team are yet to confirm their driver lineup for the 2024 season as Ricciardo is only on loan from Red Bull until the end of 2023, and Lawson has well and truly put his hand up after missing out on a fulltime seat coming into this season.
Lawson caught plenty of attention in qualifying for the event when he made it through to the third session – being the only Red Bull-affiliated driver to do so; keeping reigning World Champion Max Verstappen out of the final session in qualifying.
It was a sign of things to come from Lawson, who ultimately qualified to start the race 10th on the grid.
After qualifying, Lawson noted it would be a challenging race but he drove a solid and clean race despite losing a couple of spots immediately off the starting line. While AlphaTauri drivers have struggled with the package they have been given this year, that hasn’t been the case for Lawson, who has consistently found the pace to be competitive.
At the front of the pack, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz converted qualifying in pole position into a race win, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton rounding out the podium.
Lawson also finished second in voting for the Driver of the Day award behind race winner Sainz.
“I’m pretty tired right now,” Lawson told Sky Sports. “The race was long, it was hot. We didn’t quite have the speed for the guys in front, so that was a bit tricky, but on my side I need to sort these starts. It’s two weeks in a row now that I’ve lost two spots off the starting line and making our life more difficult.
“We did the hard work yesterday to put ourselves in Q3 and to lose those two spots off the line is tricky. For the rest of the race I gave it everything.”
Lawson was overlooked for a fulltime role with AlphaTauri for the 2023 season due to a lack of experience, and has spent most of this year racing in the Japanese Super Formula competition – where he remains in title contention with two races to go.
However, has only taken forward steps since getting his chance to show he is ready for the top level since making his Formula One race debut at the Dutch Grand Prix late last month.
After missing out on points by just one place at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend, Lawson wouldn’t be denied in Singapore – a race known for being one of the toughest of the series both physically and mentally given the length, the fact it’s contested at night under lights and the added elements of the heat and humidity.
“I’ve been beating the drum since before driving in F1, trying to get this shot. Now I have this opportunity I’m just trying to maximise it,” Lawson said.
“I have this very short window. I basically want to get to the end of it and look back and know I’d done everything I could.
“It’s tricky to get a fulltime seat in this sport but rather than looking at all those external things, for me it’s focusing on every session, trying to maximise each time I’m in the car and show what I can.”
- by Christopher Reive, NZ Herald
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