Horner optimistic despite challenging weekend for Lawson and Hadjar at Australian GP

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Christian Horner remains optimistic about the future prospects of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar following a tough Australian Grand Prix that saw both drivers failing to finish.

Red Bull’s new signing, Lawson, and Racing Bulls rookie, Hadjar, crashed at Turn 2 in separate incidents on Sunday. Lawson hit the wall when rain fell late in the race, while Hadjar spun on the formation lap, ending his race before it began.

Lawson's retirement on Lap 47 marked the conclusion of a difficult debut weekend. "It was a difficult weekend for him," acknowledged Red Bull Team Principal Horner. Despite the setbacks, Lawson showed potential by posting the second-fastest lap time on dry tires.

"We changed the car to put a bit more downforce on the car. It’s a very hard track to overtake at. We took a risk of leaving him out longer because he was out of the points, and we thought, ‘you know what, roll the dice and maybe it will come right’ at exactly the point it started to rain more, so it’s difficult to blame him for that last bit," Horner said.

Horner added that missing the final practice session placed Lawson under significant pressure, but he remains confident that Lawson’s resilience will help him move forward.

For Hadjar, the weekend started promisingly as he narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish in qualifying, making him the fastest rookie over a single lap. However, a loss of grip on the formation lap led to his premature exit.

“It was quite heart-wrenching to see him so gutted,” reflected Horner. Despite the unfortunate spin, Hadjar’s performance in practice and qualifying was commendable. "When he strips it back, there’s an awful lot of positives that he can take out of the weekend. He’s got many bright days ahead of him," said Horner.

Both young drivers aim to learn from their experiences and showcase their true potential in upcoming races.

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