New Zealander Liam Lawson has made an extremely impressive start to life in Formula One.
Although Daniel Ricciardo’s unfortunate hand injury opened the door for the Kiwi to get a chance, the 21-year-old has grabbed it with both hands.
Following a crazy and whirlwind debut at Zandvoort thanks to Ricciardo’s injury and mixed weather conditions on Saturday and Sunday, Lawson has really been able to show his quality over two normal, dry weekends at Monza and Singapore.
Lawson finished P11 in Monza, and he was just over a tenth and a half behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying. At the weekend in Marina Bay, he outpaced the Japanese driver in qualifying and drove a strong, mature race in brutal conditions to bring home his first two points in Formula One.
Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
It moves him within one point of Kevin Magnussen and Tsunoda in the Drivers’ Championship, with AlphaTauri now just five points behind Alfa Romeo in the Constructors’ Championship.
Lawson will drive Japan for the team once again, but it is expected that Ricciardo will return to the cockpit from Qatar onwards. The New Zealander will return to Super Formula for the final round at Suzuka looking to win the championship.
Asked about his performance in Singapore, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner credited Lawson for the job he did.
“I think he’s done a great job. Obviously he’s a Red Bull Racing driver on loan to AlphaTauri as all the drivers are there.
“I think he’s done an impressive job considering the circumstances he’s been dropped in the car.
“At a track that is very challenging, he has done a great job.”
Lawson’s 2024 plans are currently unknown. But one thing is for sure, Horner and Red Bull are very happy with the performances of the 21-year-old, and he admitted Lawson is making a strong case to be given a seat in the future.
“I think everybody in Red Bull Racing was very impressed with what he has done. He’s making a very strong case for himself.”
