Liam Lawson turned heads in the Zandvoort paddock. Thrown in at the deep end as a last-minute replacement for Isack Hadjar, who injured his wrist during the summer break, the New Zealander impressed under immense pressure: partnering Max Verstappen at the four-time champion's home race.
Qualifying was the first sign of his rapid adaptation. Lawson was just a tenth behind Verstappen, lining up eighth on the grid. On race day, drama struck Verstappen with a huge crash on the opening lap, leaving Lawson to lead Red Bull's charge. He finished seventh, best of the rest behind the top three teams.
Boss's Praise
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies was full of praise. "It's so difficult nowadays to jump from a team to another, so I think Liam did what he could. He obviously did a very good job in qualifying yesterday being only a tenth away from Max, today was a bit of a race on his own," he told Sky Sports F1.
Mekies acknowledged that without a reference from Max, judging pure pace is tricky. But the points scored—seventh place—were likely the best possible result on a weekend where Red Bull trailed McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari throughout.
Lawson admitted the race was tough. "The first lap was quite fun, but from then, honestly, we just struggled for pace to match the front guys. After yesterday I knew it was going to be a hard race, we were both behind them," he said. Still, he believes there are lessons to be learned from this weekend.
The result moves Lawson to ninth in the drivers' standings on 49 points, five clear of Pierre Gasly. A valuable asset should Red Bull need him again.
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