Liam Lawson successfully navigated the challenges of the F1 Qatar GP and secured a solid 9th-place finish on Sunday. The New Zealand driver secured 2 valuable points for the Racing Bulls after sustaining damage during qualifying, and despite a strategically restrictive race. He later declared it as “pretty pointless.”
Frustration over traffic and strategy for Liam Lawson
Lawson described the team’ performance in the F1 Qatar GP as a “good race” overall, but voiced frustration over the difficulty to overtake due to being “stuck in traffic like everybody else”. He directly linked this to his starting position: “Obviously a result of our qualifying yesterday.”
The crucial moment that led to a strategic stalemate occurred early on when everyone boxed on lap 7 after an incident between Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly led to the Safety Car being deployed.
When the mass pit stops occured for everyone bar McLaren, Lawson realised that the entire field was attempting “to do the exact same strategy”.
He found that there was nothing they could have done to change the course of his day and it was “a pretty pointless race, to be honest.”
Qualifying damage and strong recovery
The foundation of Lawson’s difficulties in the F1 Qatar GP was laid during Qualifying where he picked up a bit of damage in Q2, ultimately eliminating him and putting him on 12th position. The driver revealed that it “really hurt us and put us out of position today.”
However, the rookie viewed his ability to recover and secure points after starting outside of the Top 10 as a notable achievement, stating that, “to recover and get points is strong.”
Missed opportunity for team points
Lawson expressed disappointment over the lack of a double-points finish for the team, mentioning his teammate Isack Hadjar who retired from the race. An end plate broke on the French driver’s car in the final five laps, destroying his left front tyre in the process. A certain P6 was lost for the 2026 Red Bull driver.
Lawson said: “It should have been two points [finishes] with Isack.”
The Kiwi described the situation as “very unfortunate”.
