After a lacklustre first two F1 races with Red Bull Racing at the start of the season, Liam Lawson is slowly finding his rhythm again at Racing Bulls. This progress was rewarded with some solid points in Monaco where he finished eighth after sacrificing his race for team mate Isack Hadjar.
First clean weekend of the year
Reflecting on his season so far ahead of the Spanish GP, Lawson admitted everything finally came together for him and Racing Bulls in the principality.
“We consistently improve through practice and put ourselves in a good position in quali. But I would say I didn’t feel any different during Monaco.
“It wasn’t like something for me just clicked and then we had a good result. That feeling has been there through all the races. It’s just we had a clean weekend.
“It was the first clean weekend we’ve had all year, honestly, with no issues. So, yeah, that was positive.”
Lawson and Racing Bulls doing everything they can this season
The young Kiwi appreciates the effort put forward by him and his team, even if not everything is perfect.
“You’re always learning and we’re always making mistakes,” Lawson explains. “I’m not sitting here saying that I’ve done perfectly everything this year, because I haven’t. But we understand as drivers that it takes a lot.
“For a Formula 1 weekend to run smoothly, for a session to run smoothly, you’re relying on a lot of variables. For me, I’m just focused on making sure I’m doing everything I can.
“It felt like, on my side, we were working in a good way. Things more or less outside of our control were not clicking, let’s say. And in Monaco, they did, which is good.”
Lawson added that Monaco wasn’t even his best weekend for Racing Bulls this season, but that it just didn’t come together thus far.
“I definitely didn’t execute everything perfectly,” he added. “Honestly, there were weekends this year I probably even had better weekends in the car or done a better job.
“But, you know, results don’t show that sometimes in Formula 1. But that’s obviously part of the learning process, which we’re all chasing every weekend.
“Honestly, all we’re focused on as drivers is doing everything we can.”
No schadenfreude from Tsunoda’s struggles
Being swapped with Yuki Tsunoda means his former team mate is now in the difficult second Red Bull Racing seat. And with the Japanese driver struggling, this might reflect better on Lawson himself. The Racing Bulls driver however quickly dismissed this notion.
“I think it doesn’t,” he firmly replied. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really change anything for me, as much as I’ve never really got the chance to show what I was capable of in a Red Bull. It doesn’t really change too much.
“If anybody else struggles in that car, it doesn’t affect, it doesn’t change me, it doesn’t make it any better for me, obviously.
“So, I’m just focused on doing the best job in the car that I’m in, which is what I’m doing at the moment.”
He also rebutted the fact that he needed to rediscover his confidence, as suggested by Red Bull senior management.
“I think my confidence hasn’t changed since last year. It didn’t change in the Red Bull and it didn’t change in the first couple of races back in the VCARB.
“It’s great to score points in Monaco. And as much as it probably reflects that it maybe looks like it gave me a bunch of confidence, that for me hasn’t changed since coming back this year.”
