Lawson rues set-up changes in ‘extremely tough' Chinese GP as pressure mounts

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Liam Lawson experienced another challenging race for Red Bull at the Chinese Grand Prix, failing to break into the points-paying positions. The New Zealander qualified last for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix but managed to climb to P14 in the Sprint, raising hopes for Sunday's race.

Ahead of the race, Red Bull made adjustments to his car under Parc Ferme conditions, resulting in Lawson starting from the pit lane to better suit his driving style. Unfortunately, while drivers like Haas' Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman capitalized on unexpected tire longevity to finish in the top 10, Lawson struggled and finished P15, later upgraded to P12 due to disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Pierre Gasly.

Reflecting on his performance, Lawson said, “To be honest, we were even more competitive in yesterday’s Sprint. We were able to overtake cars and move forward. It’s just we tried something with the set-up to learn something today. It was quite a big step and unfortunately it just didn’t work. A lot to learn from this weekend – a lot for me personally to get on top of as well. It’s just been extremely tough.”

Lawson is under increasing pressure following his promotion to Red Bull, especially as teammate Max Verstappen continues to excel, finishing fourth in China. Compounding the pressure are comparisons to other rookie drivers, with Lawson understanding the high expectations at Red Bull to contribute to their quest for the Teams' Championship.

“I’d love to say I just need more time driving the car but obviously we don’t really have that,” Lawson explained. “Fortunately we go to a track that I know [next] and it’s a track that I like. I’ll be spending this week going very heavily into absolutely everything to try and obviously do a better job.”

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