Liam Lawson is back in his Racing Bull seat . His Red Bull seat now belongs to Yuki Tsunoda. The driver swap was announced after the Chinese Grand Prix. Lawson’s first race back is this weekend at the Suzuka Circuit, the first circuit he has raced before this season.
He produced his best results this season during both free practice sessions. In FP1, Lawson placed P7 on the grid, only a few hundredths behind his new rookie teammate Isack Hadjar. He improved again in FP2, placing P5 on the grid, 0.445s behind Oscar Piastri who topped the chart.
Returning to familiar places
The Racing Bull driver is happy to be back at the familiar track and is excited about the track updates from last year.
“It was a good day. Nice to be driving, nice to be driving at Suzuka again.
“It’s a very cool track. With the resurfacing, Sector 1 is even faster now, so it just feels like it’s tearing your head off, which is quite exciting.”
When asked to compare the VCARB 02 to the RB21 he was previously driving in the first two races of the season in Australia and China. The New Zealander spoke on how different it felt and his hopes for the rest of the season.
“It felt good. It does feel different, definitely. I think it’s maybe not what everyone expects, but it is definitely a different feeling to drive. I think the window that the [Racing Bulls] guys have at the moment is very, very good. The car’s been fast so far this season, so hopefully we can replicate that tomorrow.”
A warm welcome back for Lawson
Racing Bull have been public and loud with welcoming back Lawson to the team. On Thursday, he was given his own “welcome back” from the team staff and team principal Laurent Mekies. The 23-year-old has been showered with love from the team and it’s clear the team has been giving him the confidence boost he needs for the weekend. He is ready and excited to move forward with the team and see what results they can achieve this season together.
“It’s been nice,” is the best way to summarise his feelings.
“Everybody’s been very, very positive. Even from last week, Laurent was straight on the phone and very, very positive, saying all the things I needed to hear. ..going to see everyone at the factory, and obviously yesterday coming into the paddock as well.“
“I’ve spent a lot of time with this team, they’re a great bunch of people. It’s nice to feel that welcome back again, so hopefully we can go and have some good races together.”
Hadjar running near the top of the charts
Lawson’s new teammate, rookie Isack Hadjar is evidently getting comfortable in his VCARB 02. Having placed P8 in FP1 and an impressive P3 in FP2. Despite the FP2 session being interrupted by several red flags. Hadjar is optimistic of his placement and performance in the session. Racing Bulls seems to improving every weekend. The VCARB 02 pulling impressive qualifying pace which is later translated into points later in the weekend.
“It was more than encouraging and just really fun,” Hadjar commented. “This car and track combo is definitely the best out there. I loved today.
“It’s definitely a good Friday. Now we’re getting used to it; Melbourne and China was really strong as well. We know what to work on and I think we’re on a good way for a good result tomorrow.”
