Lawson celebrates “really cool” P6 Qualifying result in Austria

Liam Lawson delivered a season-best performance in Qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix, blazing to an impressive sixth-place start and emerging as the top Red Bull representative at the team’s home circuit.

Coming into Q1 as one of just six drivers with the advantage of having an additional set of fresh soft compound tyres in his armoury, Lawson increased his odds of a standout session through his strategically cautious approach across the weekend. 

Despite having the upper hand in terms of tyres, Racing Bulls were the last team to unleash its drivers onto the Red Bull Ring.

When Lawson finally graced Red Bull’s home circuit, he recorded a lap worthy of a top-ten time, however, his 1:05.400s wasn’t a certain ticket into the second stage.

As a result, the Kiwi launched yet again, skyrocketing his VCARB 02 into the top three was a lap just half a tenth behind the leading McLaren duo — setting the tone for the rest of his session.

Lawson’s first run in Q2 was a combination of both personal bests and purple sectors as he boosted himself to the top of the timesheets.

His initial time of 1:05.248s earned him an impressive, but momentary, first-place result in the middle stage of Qualifying — albeit slower than his Q1 lap.

Bunkering down in the RB garage during a short-lived Red Flag for a small grass fire on the main straight, Lawson drifted down the order into P6, notably holding a tenth of an advantage over both Mercedes drivers who were struggling with the hot conditions.

On his final run, Lawson armed himself with a fresh set of soft compound tyres, but despite his improvements across the lap, the Kiwi opted to abandon his steady run when it became clear that he would progress through to Q3 regardless of his revised time.

“The last couple of weekends, the pace has been there in Free Practice,” Lawson said.

“Canada was strong, Barcelona was strong, and just in Quali it wasn’t, so this weekend, it’s been… of all the weekends to get it across the line, it’s been cool because it’s so close and it puts pressure on us, obviously, behind the wheel to execute.

“And same on the team with the car, we’ve been fine-tuning all weekend.

“We don’t have time to miss anything because everyone else is chasing as well so yeah, cool to get it across the line.”

Narrowly avoiding the pitlane rush that nearly resulted in a collision between George Russell and Max Verstappen, Lawson watched and waited as his competitors filed through the fast-lane. 

Running last on track, the Kiwi further delayed setting a lap in Q3 when he aborted his initial attempt and returned to the pitlane.

That proved to be a risky decision when the worst-case scenario struck at the final corner, with Pierre Gasly bringing out a costly set of yellow flags after he spun through the gravel, impacting the majority of the field, however, much to Lawson’s delight, not impacting the #30.

Making it across the line before Gasly, three personal best sectors guided Lawson around the lap.

When he took the chequered flag, the Racing Bulls driver boasted a standout time of 1:04.926s which rewarded him with an impressive sixth-place start for the Austrian Grand Prix — the highest qualifying result for any Red Bull-backed challenger at the team’s home track. 

“It feels like it’s been a long time,” Lawson said.

“It’s really cool to, obviously, have a good Quali.

“Obviously, we see everything behind the scenes, in the last couple of races, everything’s felt really good, honestly.

“I felt really good and we’ve done a lot of work on the car, and on my side as well, just making it more comfortable for me.

“It’s been there, it just hasn’t shown so it’s nice to show it today but, obviously, tomorrow is also the important day.”

The Kiwi will take the start of the Austrian Grand Prix with Max Verstappen in his mirrors, however, he acknowledged that the Red Bull driver isn’t his fight on Sunday, with his midfield rivals Gabriel Bortoleto and Fernando Alonso setting their sights on demoting Lawson from a points finish across the 71-lap race.

“I hope [we have the pace for points], but at the same time, at the moment the deg is decent and long runs were tricky,” the #30 said.

“We had a good long run but it’s always different in the race when you’re in traffic and I’m sure there’s going to be a mix of strategies.”

Sharing Row 3 with Mercedes’ George Russell, Lawson will have his focus honed in on the five lights and a potential points finish at 23:00 AEST tonight when the Austrian Grand Prix kicks off. 

Image: Peter Fox/LAT 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

Buy the new issue of Auto Action Premium HERE

Read the new issue of Auto Action Digital HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here or you can purchase a copy of the latest issue from one of our outlets here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine