Lawson “reasonably happy” after practice in Austria

Liam Lawson was satisfied with his first day of running at the Austrian Grand Prix, however, he admitted that the team is “still chasing improvements” after a steering issue derived from a set-up change cost him valuable track time in FP2. 

As was the case for many teams, the arrival of the Austrian Grand Prix marked a new opportunity for teams to experiment with a variety of new developments on their 2025 challengers — and Racing Bulls was no exception.

Charging out of the pitlane to start the first hour of practice, Lawson was tasked with running a new front wing while his teammate Isack Hadjar had been given an upgraded rear wing for the session. 

It wasn’t long before Lawson found comfort within the top ten, setting an initial time of 1:08.592s on the medium compound tyre before shaving over a second off that lap, boosting his VCARB 02 into ninth position.

Sitting less than a tenth behind his teammate, he abandoned his first set of tyres after nine laps; taking a quick reset in the pitlane before conducting his second stint of the hour.

Lawson improved to sit within seven-tenths of the Mercedes-powered benchmark as the session reached the 30-minute mark, whereafter Racing Bulls then sent both its drivers out on the soft compound tyre, with Lawson cementing his place in the top ten with a time of 1:06.234s.

Reducing his lap by a tenth on his next flying run, the #30 soon reverted to the medium compound once more, completing his long-run program to round out FP1 as the fifteenth fastest driver on track.

In between practice sessions, an issue with set-up changes unknowingly resulted in the Kiwi having to tiptoe back to the pitlane as the light went green on FP2.

The #30 instantly detected an issue with steering as he completed his initial out-lap, jumping on the team radio to inform RB that something was “not right” and explaining that the wheel was pulling him “massively to the right”. 

It was a relatively simple fix for the RB crew who spent 15 minutes working on the rear of the Kiwi’s car, having Lawson armed with the hard compound tyre and ready to go once again.

Lawson’s first flying lap on return reaped a time of 1:06.647s, placing him sixteenth fastest to get the ball rolling. 

He worked to reduce that lap by six-tenths, boosting his VCARB 02 into the top ten before the Racing Bulls teammates found themselves separated by just four-thousandths of a second. 

When it came time for race simulations, that interval remained intact while Lawson toured Red Bull’s home circuit with race pace varying between the 1m9s-1m12s. 

As the chequered flag fell on Lawson’s first Friday at the F1 Austrian Grand Prix, he ended the session in a productive P12.

“It’s close on track so far this weekend,” Lawson said.

“It’s a very short lap around here, which naturally leads to close lap times, and given how tight the grid has been all season Qualifying will be extremely competitive. 

“Our car is in a decent place, but like everyone else, we’re still chasing improvements. 

“For now we’re in an ok window and there’s still time to extract more pace. 

“Traffic in Q1 will be a challenge, so managing tyre temperatures and out-lap procedures will be crucial. 

“We will need to manage the best we can and hopefully it all pays off.”

Aside from the temporary issue on Lawson’s car during FP2, RB Racing Director Alan Permane described the opening day of running as “productive”, with the team ending Friday with the notion that the VCARB 02 is in a “good position” to be competitive across the rest of the weekend.

“The drivers are reasonably happy, although there is still some work to be done to find the last tenths,” Permane said. 

“Overnight we will see what areas we can improve in to test in FP3 tomorrow. 

“One challenge is today’s cooler temperatures compared to the much hotter conditions expected on Sunday — this is something we’ll need to factor in when considering the tyre degradation and race strategy. 

“We’ve seen all three compounds used today on long and short runs and they could all feature on Sunday.”

Temperatures are set to reach 26°C across Saturday’s running, with the threat of rain dissipating for the remainder of the weekend allowing teams to put full focus into slick tyre analysis ahead of Sunday’s main event. 

The field will have just one more hour to familiarise themselves with the Red Bull Ring during FP3, before shifting into a competitive mindset for Qualifying. 

The final hour of practice will take place at 20:30 AEST tonight, followed by the first decisive session of the weekend at 00:00 AEST.

Image: Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

2025 Austrian Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, June 27:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, June 28:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, June 29:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

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