Lawson expresses frustration after last-place Qualifying for Chinese Grand Prix amid Red Bull struggles
Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
SHANGHAI – Red Bull's Liam Lawson will start the Chinese Grand Prix from the back of the grid after another challenging performance during Qualifying. The New Zealander has faced a rocky start to his Red Bull tenure, previously qualifying 18th in Australia, and securing last place for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix events in Shanghai. His Q1 time lagged 1.191 seconds behind McLaren's Lando Norris, the leader in that segment.
In comparison, Lawson's teammate, Max Verstappen, secured a fifth-place starting position, finishing 0.720 seconds faster than Lawson. "It's very, very tough and I can get upset at the traffic issues and the things like that, but it shouldn't be the difference between me getting through or not," Lawson admitted.
He reflected on his performance frustrations, telling Sky Sports F1, "I have a whole lot of things to sort out myself before I can look at getting a little bit of traffic and things like that. It's just frustrating."
When pressed about specific challenges with the RB21, Lawson stated, "It's just time. Unfortunately, I don’t really have time but it's just one of those things. To drive a Formula 1 car, it takes 100% confidence in what you’re doing. It’s not that I don’t feel confident, the window is just so small... and it’s that I need to get a handle on. I don’t know how else to put it really, it’s just not good enough."
While Lawson impressed last year with Racing Bulls, his recent experience following the Red Bull promotion has been more demanding. Last weekend, amid treacherous conditions in Australia, he struggled to advance and ultimately crashed while on slicks during rainfall. Nevertheless, there was a glimmer of progress as he climbed to 14th during the Saturday Sprint race.
Lawson remains resolute despite the setbacks, focusing on narrowing the small margins that are currently costing him valuable grid positions.
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