Maximising every opportunity the F1 Azerbaijan GP Qualifying threw at him, Liam Lawson earned himself a second row start, claiming P3. Marking the best result of his F1 career to date, the Kiwi will face a tough battle on Sunday. Hoping to keep his Racing Bulls car close to the top 3, Lawson spoke of the difficult conditions around Baku.
Lawson had quite a tough first full-time season, with his best overall result coming from the F1 Austrian GP. He started out his season with Red Bull Racing. Yet, he was demoted to Racing Bulls after failing to get a grasp on the RB21. While his adjustment period saw him gather a few DNFs, the New Zealander managed to keep his focus straight during today’s Qualifying.
First thoughts in Parc Fermé
The F1 Azerbaijan GP Qualifying ended up recording a record number of red flags, and Liam Lawson came on top. Not letting himself be detered by the chaos around him, the driver admitted this session’s level of mayhem was unexpected. Praising his team for offering him a good car, Lawson acknowledged the importance of tommorow:
“Honestly, I can’t even remember what happened. It was so busy. Obviously, it’s still raining now. It was very busy. I said it would be, but I didn’t expect it to be like that, honestly. But the car has been good all weekend. And when it needed to be in quali, it was good. So massive thanks to the guys and girls. The team’s been amazing this weekend so far, but obviously, tomorrow’s the important day.”
During Q3, rain made its appearance on the tricky streets of Baku. Describing the mental battle he faced when realising the change in track conditions, the Kiwi shared his POV from the cockpit:
“It’s always sketchy because you see the rain coming on your visor and you can feel it. And you can kind of see the gloss on the track. But because the tyres are still warm, you have grip. So you’re trying to fight your brain and not back off and keep pushing. But it’s definitely tricky.”
In terms of Sunday’s race, Lawson will focus on trying to maximise the good starting position. A podium for him would bring Racing Bulls their second this season, after Hadjar’s.
“It’s going to be a very hard race for sure. We have a great starting position. But obviously, we’re aware of who we’re fighting around us. And that’s what we’ll be focused on.”
Celebrating the good result
Despite the overall achivement of besting the terrible conditions during the F1 Azerbaijan GP Qualifying, this result also marks Lawson’s best. During the post-qualifying press conference, the Racing Bulls driver spoke of the challenges. Moreover, Liam Lawson shared the work that went into this good weekend.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It was a good session. It’s been a good weekend so far. It’s been very tricky, though. I think that quali was one of the toughest ones we’ve probably experienced — trying to keep putting out laps, especially when the rain’s coming down. And the amount of red flags that there were as well — it was definitely a challenge.
“But the car’s been good, honestly, all weekend. We’ve just been fine-tuning, and I think it was in the right place. But when a session’s like that, honestly, it’s more down to just putting a lap together and making sure that you have good track position. And don’t get caught out by these red flags.”
With such uncertain conditions set to follow tomorrow, the Kiwi confessed to his inability to predict the race. However, he did mention the desire to bring that podium home. Remaining cautious, Lawson gave a measured answer:
“It’s really hard to know. Obviously, we’d love to stay where we are. But we’re aware of the guys that we’re racing as well. And we know that there’s some quicker guys behind us. So we’ll try and obviously have a good start — that’s the first thing. I think our long-run pace was okay. But honestly, when the conditions are as windy as they were today, it changes everything. So, yeah, let’s see tomorrow.”
The need for consistency
Being an F1 driver often comes with the need to keep up a level of consistency when it comes to race weekends. Red Bull’s advisor, Helmut Marko recently spoke of the way the RB drivers are expected to perform. With this qualifying result at the F1 Azerbaijan GP, Lawson showcased his potential as a driver.
Yet, the Kiwi is unsure of whether one good Qualifying is enough, emphasising the need for a constant performance:
“I mean, for sure, it’s good to have these results. For me personally, it’s been something that has been tough. Especially this year — especially early in the season… I think it’s been very, very close this year. But personally we just had a lot of stuff going on earlier in the year that was making qualifying more difficult. And it definitely wasn’t a strong point.
“So it’s important for me more than anything. Obviously, it helps, these performances, but we need more than one. We need to keep the consistency. And also points are more important as well tomorrow in the race.”
Not backing down from a challenge
Racing around the Baku City circuit comes with a tricky layout and close calls. Nevertheless, there is no question in terms of the necesity of good mental preparation for fast changes and opportunities. Liam Lawson spoke of his time throughout the F1 Azerbaijan GP Qualifying session, where the red flags seemed endless.
“Honestly, I think for us in this position, when it’s this chaotic — I mean, personally, I’m going to try and… on a street circuit you have to push the limits anyway. You have to push the limits. And sometimes if you push a little bit harder, you can get rewarded. But obviously it’s very easy to crash here as well,” highlighted the Racing Bulls driver.
“So through quali, you’re managing it, trying to drive good laps, keep everything together and learn as much as you can with the wind and everything. But at the same time, with how much it’s changing, you start a new lap and it’s completely new, the feeling of the car, different corners. And it can be really confusing. Especially over such a long lap, it’s very challenging for us.”
Recovering after Monza
The last round in the European leg of the calendar had RB and its drivers struggle. Coming back after the Italian GP, Racing Bulls made a great recovery. Liam Lawson spoke of the differences for the F1 Azerbaijan GP Qualifying which brought this turnaround for his team:
“Yeah. I think we fuelled for the session, did the whole session, and just kept driving around! We made a mistake in Monza and took a bit of a risk. But we knew the car was fast. But just with how close it is this year you can still be fast and have something happen and get knocked out,” explained the Kiwi, pointing out the little bit of luck that is needed in the sport sometimes.
“So today, with everything that was going on and the conditions, we played it a bit safer and we maximised laps on track. We probably completed three or four laps but spent the entire qualifying — when it was green — pretty much on the track. So obviously for today, it worked for us.”
Lawson seemed pleased with the outcome of both the Qualifying, and his team’s approach to it. Nevertheless, his focus will not be set on making sure he keeps that P3 for tommorow’s race.
