Lawson looking ahead: “I hope they don’t leave me hanging too long”

With his Formula 1 future still up in the air, Liam Lawson’s second stint with RB came to a disappointing end at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after he was forced to retire on the final lap of what he described as “one of the best races I’ve driven”.

With his teammate by his side for one last time in 2024, Lawson sat watching the final five lights of the season go out, charging down to the chaos of the first braking zone and leaving a struggling Yuki Tsunoda in his tracks. 

Lawson capitalised on the Verstappen-Piastri incident at Turn 1, however, that was a double-edged sword when he soon became the Dutchman’s first target after rejoining the field.

The pair tussled for position into Turn 6 before Lawson was offered a lifeline in the form of a Virtual Safety Car being called, neutralising the race and delaying the Red Bull driver’s move until the track went green once again.

Expectedly losing out to Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton was the next driver in his mirrors, with the departing Mercedes driver momentarily snatching the fringe position from him into Turn 6 before Lawson hit back, using his better exit out of Turn 7 to repass Hamilton.

Unfortunately, the #44 cemented the move just a lap later on Lap 11, with Lawson’s tyres dropping off compared to the hard compound runner. 

The Kiwi’s race was flipped on its head during his first pitstop of the race, with the RB mechanics not fitting his new right front tyre tight enough despite Lawson getting the green light to drive off.

As he exited the pitlane, Lawson was alerted by sparks and wobbles coming from the tyre, instantly informing his team of the mistake before coming back into the pitlane after completing the 5.2km lap.

“When I was driving out [I realised the wheel was loose],” he said. 

“Once I drove out and I came out of the tunnel, when I turned right to come out onto the track, I could see then that it was sparking and shaking. 

“I reported it straightaway so it’s a shame. 

“I need to review it properly but I saw the light go green and I went. I guess the wheel wasn’t on.”

Lawson added: “Part of me was really hoping that it wouldn’t come off because I don’t know what I would have done then, so I just tried to pretend that it was all ok. 

“It was on, the wheel was on, but it wasn’t all the way, so it was moving on the nut.”

As if returning to the race in last place wasn’t enough of a hit, the Kiwi was also sanctioned with a 10-second stop/go penalty for being released in an unsafe condition, leaving him two laps behind the race leader. 

However, that all became irrelevant for the RB driver whose engine, with just one lap remaining, went up in smoke.

The Kiwi found a safe place to pull over and retire the car, jumping out in a hurry as the conclusion to his short-lived 2024 Formula 1 season.

“That sucked,” Lawson stated. 

“It’s always painful, especially when the speed is really good, so even though we were out of the points and a couple of laps down, we showed really good pace – similar to Gasly at the end of the race. 

“It’s just one of those things.”

On a broader scale, Lawson said since joining the team as a main driver in Austin, his six races of the year have been “good”, however, last night’s outing was on track to be one of his best. 

“To be perfectly honest, today’s race was probably one of the best races I’ve driven, even though we were two laps down,” he said.

“The speed was really strong and I gave it absolutely everything, as I have done in all of these sessions. 

“I’m happy with the race today in terms of performance, obviously, it just sucks that we couldn’t show it.”

And with the future still unknown for the Kiwi, the next time he steps into an F1 car to “show it” could be a long way away.

Since the beginning of the year, Lawson’s name was constantly thrown around as a replacement option for multiple Red Bull family drivers, with Daniel Ricciardo the unlucky driver going from a potential promotion to the main Red Bull seat to being replaced by Lawson at RB. 

Now, Sergio Perez is the driver in the firing line after an extremely poor 2024 season that cost Red Bull a chance at adding another constructors’ championship to its name, putting him at risk of meeting the same fate as Ricciardo in the off-season.

Both Lawson and his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda are campaigning to get their foot in the door to race alongside Max Verstappen in 2025, with the Japanese driver participating in the post-season test this week with Red Bull.

As a result, Lawson said he expects news about his future to follow the test, affirming that his goal is to stay on the grid next season.

“I don’t know yet,” he admitted. 

“My goal is to be in Formula 1 next year, but I don’t know where that will be right now. 

“I would hope [to find out] in the next few days. I hope they don’t leave me hanging too long, so let’s see.”

If successful in signing on with RB or receiving the coveted promotion, Lawson’s next Grand Prix outing would take him to the closest thing he has to a home race, the Australian Grand Prix season opener in March 2025.

Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

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