Liam Lawson: “The goal was to complete the 72 laps.”
The New Zealander completed his first Formula 1 Grand Prix. Despite a heavy 10-second penalty, Daniel Ricciardo's replacement has impressed.
Express discovery. Liam Lawson was called in at the last minute to replace the injured Daniel Ricciardo, and had to adapt to Formula 1 in just one hour. With the third free practice session as his first outing, the learning process couldn’t be done properly. This is evidenced by his last place on the grid.
If the exercise of the quick lap was not a great success, on the other hand, the race was almost perfect. Under changing conditions, the New Zealander did a very good job. The only downside is the 10-second penalty he received, right from the first lap, in the pits.
13th for his first race
Despite this negative point, he displayed a very good pace and did not fall into the trap of the rain and the tricky track. With a 13th place, he kept the championship’s top dogs behind him during the final laps of the race.
« The objective was to complete the 72 laps today. When I arrived on the grid and it started raining, it wasn’t the best feeling. After that, we didn’t have any other choice but to make a pit stop, but unfortunately, we received a penalty and we lost a lot of time », recounts the AlphaTauri driver.
« I think that once we had clean air during the second half of the race and we were able to drive with intermediate tires at the end, my pace wasn’t so bad. There is still work to be done, but I am happy to have finished the race, to have experienced different conditions and scenarios, and to be able to put them into practice. »
