A ninth important place for Lawson
After only his third race in Formula 1, Liam Lawson managed to bring his AlphaTauri into the points at the end of a thrilling race in Singapore.
Tenth on the grid, the young New Zealander had already impressed the paddock by becoming the first AlphaTauri driver in 2023 to qualify his car in the Top 10. This performance was made possible, among other things, by the poor form of the parent team (Verstappen and Perez qualified 11th and 13th respectively), but it remains impressive. Indeed, it was only the rookie’s third qualifying session, and on a long and twisty circuit like Singapore, where the driver must remain particularly focused. This little feat occurred while his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, cracked under pressure and had to abort his lap after missing a braking point at turn 14.
Disappointed that he did not maximize his qualifications, feeling that a better lap could have been achieved, Liam Lawson was even more disappointed with his start. Right after the first corner, he was overtaken by Max Verstappen, who was on harder tires, and Pierre Gasly. « I need to solve my difficulties at the start. This is the second consecutive weekend where I lose two positions right from the start. These poor starts make our lives more complicated than they should be. »
The kiwi had, in its misfortune, more luck than its neighboring garage mate who was hit by Sergio Perez in the third turn. In a race where the absence of Red Bulls completely reshuffled the hierarchy, all of AlphaTauri’s hopes for points rested on the shoulders of Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement.
Twelfth throughout the entire first stint, the very slow pace set by Carlos Sainz at the front of the pack had created a massive DRS train that made any overtaking maneuver impossible. It was thanks to the safety car intervention following Logan Sargeant’s accident that Liam Lawson was able to pass Nico Hülkenberg’s Haas. The German driver was a victim of the double pit stop imposed by his team. He then advanced in the hierarchy thanks to Esteban Ocon’s retirement, the pit stops of both Red Bulls, and finally Fernando Alonso’s off-track excursion.
Now in eighth place, Lawson was going to fight for his points, even if it meant putting up a strong resistance against Max Verstappen. The Dutchman had put on new medium tires and was rapidly closing in on the drivers in the middle of the pack ahead of him. After overtaking Zhou and Hülkenberg, he now had Lawson’s AlphaTauri in his sights. Already the only one to have overtaken the championship leader on track, the rookie didn’t hesitate to give very little space to the home favorite. However, the difference in pace was too big to hold onto his position.
Overtaken a few laps later by the other Red Bull, Lawson benefitted from George Russell’s unfortunate retirement, who was well on his way to second place on the podium, to recover the two points for ninth place. Very solid at Zandvoort and Monza, there is probably one more race left for the Hastings native to prove to his team leaders that he deserves a starting contract for next year. After such a demonstration, it would be very surprising not to see his efforts rewarded.
au fait que l’équipe AlphaTauri se bat constamment pour les positions du milieu de peloton, il est compréhensible que le pilote ne soit pas satisfait. Cependant, il faut reconnaître qu’il a réalisé une performance solide lors de cette course. Malgré les difficultés, il a réussi à maximiser son résultat et à obtenir le meilleur classement possible. Il est important de souligner que cette mentalité d’insatisfait chronique peut également être une source de motivation pour le pilote et son équipe, les poussant à poursuivre leurs efforts et à viser des résultats encore meilleurs à l’avenir.
His fighting spirit should put him in Helmut Marko’s good books.
Liam Lawson is now nineteenth in the drivers’ championship. He has overtaken Logan Sargeant and Nyck De Vries. Despite this foray into the points, AlphaTauri remains the weakest link on the grid in tenth position, five points behind Alfa Romeo. The improvements made to the new AT04 chassis could enable its drivers to score more points, but avoiding finishing last at the end of the season now seems impossible.
