In the recent pre-season testing, Red Bull’s newest recruit, Liam Lawson, left a commendable impression despite a minor misstep, according to the team’s advisor, Helmut Marko. The event unfolded at the Bahrain International Circuit, where Lawson was the first Red Bull driver to hit the track.
Lawson, the young New Zealander who has succeeded Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s latest cohort, held strong competition for the top position throughout the morning. He traded fastest lap times with prominent figures such as Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon, and Fernando Alonso before Andrea Kimi Antonelli advanced with a 1:31.428, putting the Mercedes rookie just 0.132s ahead of Lawson.
However, the afternoon session witnessed a reshuffling of the drivers by all ten teams, leading to better conditions despite a power failure that delayed the session by an hour. Lawson ended the day in the eighth position, trailing almost nine-tenths behind his teammate, Verstappen, who secured the third place.
Marko shed light on the situation, attributing Lawson’s drop in ranking to a wrong decision he made during the session. According to Marko, Lawson chose to make a certain modification in the car that didn’t yield the anticipated results. This change, according to Marko, was the wrong move, and it cost Lawson his expected progress when he switched from hard to medium Pirelli tyres.
Speaking to the Dutch media about Lawson’s debut pre-season testing for Red Bull, Marko shared his thoughts. He acknowledged that Lawson did a good job but failed to gain the desired outcome when he shifted from hard to medium tyres. Additionally, he said that Lawson’s change in the car was a wrong decision and logically it didn’t work out as expected. This resulted in Lawson gaining just one-tenth while others were able to gain three to five tenths.
When asked about Lawson’s adaptation to the team and how he differs from his predecessor Perez, Marko highlighted Lawson’s greater enthusiasm, attributing it to his age.
Lawson’s only significant error on the day was when he lost control of the RB21, causing a tyre-squealing spin but managed to prevent the car from getting stuck in the gravel. Despite severely damaging the tyres, he completed his morning session as planned and is expected to continue on the track for the entire day on Thursday before Verstappen takes over.
Commenting on his experience, Lawson expressed his joy at driving the new car and emphasized the significance of learning at this early stage. He stated his intention to focus on understanding the new car and optimizing the testing days. Despite not being able to gauge the car’s pace at this point, Lawson found the car comfortable to drive and is eager to maximize these days before heading to Melbourne.
