Lawson arrives at Silverstone with “similar level of confidence”

Empowered by a career-best finish in Austria, Liam Lawson is aiming to carry that momentum into this weekend’s challenge at the British Grand Prix, fuelled by a sharper understanding of “why everything clicked together”.

Less than seven days ago, Liam Lawson took the chequered flag at Red Bull’s home circuit in sixth place, scoring eight points as a standout reward for his best result of his career with Racing Bulls. 

The haul boosted the Kiwi into 15th in the drivers’ championship standings, with Racing Bulls also reaping the benefits of Lawson’s Sunday outing to jump ahead of Haas in the constructors’ standings and settle into sixth. 

“In Formula 1, you get 24 hours, if that, to take a good weekend in, let’s say, but obviously we’re straight back in a race on this weekend,” Lawson said. 

“Yeah, it was great, it was a good weekend, but at the end of the day, we need more of them, and that’s really the focus going into this weekend.”

After confirming that celebrations were kept to a minimum, the #30 added: “It’s a really good result, but it’s… I don’t know, it’s almost what we’d… It’s not what we’d expect, but it’s what we’re pushing for.

“And as I said, to celebrate one good weekend like that is… It’s been, I don’t know, seven or eight really average weekends, so it’s still not really… We need to take more good weekends.”

Lawson had the familiar sight of Fernando Alonso in his mirrors for almost the entirety of the 70-lap race, with the veteran driver unrelenting in his attack on Lawson as the only two drivers to take the risk on a one-stop strategy.

Distracted by Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto in the dying stages of the race, Alonso was ultimately forced to let up on his attack on Lawson, allowing the Kiwi to claim his career-best finish with some hard-earned breathing room.

“I seem to always have Fernando (Alonso), so it’s a very similar feeling for me — not an easy feeling,” the #30 said. 

“He’s obviously… He knows what he’s doing, but it’s probably made the result a little bit more special as well.”

Switching his focus to this weekend’s uncharted challenge at Silverstone, the rookie is hoping to make a habit of finishing within the top ten.

Lawson spent the days in between Austria and Silverstone committed to “simulator work and personal development”, preparing himself for his first outing in Formula 1 machinery around the historic circuit. 

Working to understand “why everything clicked together” in Austria, Racing Bulls also believes it has done exactly that ahead of the British Grand Prix and is ready to apply the learnings “into every weekend” moving forward.

“Every track’s different, so one thing that’s the same every weekend that we have to do is continue developing over the weekend,” Lawson said.

“With how close the margins are, there’s no time to sit on what you have. 

“If you have a good session, you can start P1 in a really strong position, and it just gives you no guarantee for the weekend because everybody else is chasing every session. 

“But I think at the same time, because the margins are very close, it’s very important that the work you do before the weekend to start with a good platform. 

“You want to start with the car in a good place, and then it’s much easier to build on from that. 

“If you start way off, it obviously makes things a lot more difficult.”

The 23-year-old added: “Honestly, I feel for the last few weekends, I felt pretty similar about how I feel.

“How the car’s been for Barcelona, Monaco, Canada, I’ve felt really good leading up to the weekend.

“We’ve had very strong practice sessions, and then it hasn’t come together in Quali. 

“So Austria was one where it did. 

“Yes, maybe in the back of my mind I know that off a good result it helps, but I feel as I have done for honestly quite a while with a very similar level of confidence.”

Track action at Silverstone will kick off tonight with the first of three practice sessions taking place at 21:30 AEST, followed by FP2 at 01:00 AEST as the drivers get up to speed with the demands of the British Grand Prix. 

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

2025 British Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, July 04:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, July 05:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, July 06:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Monday, July 07:

Race: 00:00

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