A "stupid mistake" and a start at the back of the grid for Liam Lawson

Given the pressure that has accompanied the second pilot in recent years Red Bull next to Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson didn't need that. The New Zealander will start from eighteenth place this Sunday, for the first Grand Prix of the season. Only the Haas byEsteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman will be in his rearview mirrors. No mechanical incident to explain this poor performance, simply a series of errors that culminated in a spin onto the grass at the penultimate corner. Lawson was in the fight for a place in Q2, but he was forced to abort his lap and return to the pits.

The genesis of this crash was in the fast chicane between Turns 9 and 10. A slight rear-end slip caused the No. 30 Red Bull to go a little wide, and from that point on, Lawson's Pirellis were no longer able to withstand the stresses of the final sector. This left the young Kiwi "frustrated" by his first performance in the Austrian energy drink giant's main team.

“The first part of the lap was good, I was where I needed to be to get through to Q2.”, he explains on the official F1 website. “I made a mistake in the last sector. I actually slipped in the fast sections, which overheated the tires, and I had nothing left for the final corners. It was a silly mistake, which didn't need to be made. We were in a decent position, improving on the lap already done. It's quite frustrating.”

Rain, a hope?

The rain forecast for Melbourne this Sunday could be Liam Lawson's only hope of a comeback. The New Zealander, however, noted an improvement in the handling of his RB21 between Friday and Saturday. This should perhaps give him confidence for the upcoming single-lap races. This Sunday's race, however, could allow him to get back on track, as the skies are pouring a little rain...

"I think the car was much better today than yesterday. If it rains, everything can change, of course. But I need the rain if I want to have a chance of coming back in the Grand Prix, that's for sure."

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