Lawson in a “good starting place” after British GP practice

Liam Lawson hasn’t ruled out a Q3 appearance after setting top-ten pace on the first day of running at the British Grand Prix, settling into a “good starting place” ahead of the first competitive session of the weekend. 

Wasting no time in kicking off his first weekend as a Formula 1 driver at the British Grand Prix, Lawson was one of the first drivers to grace the iconic Silverstone Circuit.

It wasn’t long before the action began to unfold as the track became populated with both familiar and new face, with Red Bull’s rookie selection for the hour, Arvid Lindblad making his presence known when he copped an early spray from the Kiwi who reminded the F2 driver of the need to check his mirrors. 

Focusing on his own run, Lawson started his FP1 campaign on the medium compound tyre, lapping within the top ten with an early time of 1:29.251s.

Not settling for a mid-range lap, Lawson went on to record a fastest middle sector before skyrocketing to the very top of the timesheets as he crossed the line with an impressive time of 1:27.676s.

The #30 was then demoted by Charles Leclerc and his RB teammate Isack Hadjar, who replicated his P1 positioning, prompting a return to the pitlane as a brief lull fell over the sunny circuit.

When he rejoined the session, Lawson was armed with the soft compound tyre.

Instantly putting the quickest compound to work, the Racing Bulls driver outpaced Max Verstappen’s C4 attempt by nine milliseconds before shaving a further tenth off his next lap just moments later. 

With less than ten minutes remaining in the hour, Lawson made the switch back to the medium compound to end his session with a bout of race simulations, meaning his 1:27.351s lap was his fastest of the morning and rewarded him with a P8 finish in FP1.

“[We made] little changes [between sessions], it’s always good when you’re making little changes, just sort of fine-tuning,” the #30 said.

“It’s hard because the wind right now is really gusty, and it’s completely throwing off the balance.

“So, it’s extremely fast, it’s my first time properly driving here in a Formula 1 car and it’s pretty exciting.”

Free Practice 2 got off to a frustrating start for Lawson when he was forced to abort his first flying lap due to a slow-moving Ollie Bearman parked on the racing line through Luffield.

Leaving the matter up to the stewards, who placed the Haas rookie under investigation for impeding, the #30 reset ahead of his next attempt where he launched around the 5.89km lap to set the sixth fastest time on the initial timesheets.

Lawson completed seven laps on his C3 tyres, discarding them in the pitlane and remaining in the RB garage for a short while before he rejoined the action on the soft compound tyre.

Both Racing Bulls drivers instantly made an impact during their first flying run, both sitting within the top five as the session reached the halfway mark.

With a time of 1:26.624s set on the C4 tyre, the Kiwi only completed a total of three laps before venturing back to the RB garage and making the switch to the medium compound to focus on race simulations for the final third of FP2.

Lawson completed one of the longest runs of the session at 15 laps before pulling into the pitlane for a practice pitstop, instantly returning in anticipation of completing a practice start on the grid.

Launching on the soft compound tyre, Lawson’s 1:26.624s lap was his fastest of the hour, leaving him in P10 as the chequered flag on the opening day of the British Grand Prix waved.

“It was alright, it’s a good start,” Lawson said. 

“It’s very close like last weekend, so yeah, we have to keep chasing it as everybody is, but it’s a good starting place and… a good place to start for tomorrow.”

Racing Bulls will has just one more hour of fine-tuning during Free Practice 3 tonight at 20:30 AEST, before the first competitive session of the weekend takes place, with all 20 drivers set to battle it out for a high grid box at the British Grand Prix.

“I think [the car will be strong enough to fight for Q3], but, as I said, it’s very close so it’s very hard to tell at this point,” Lawson concluded.

“If we have another good session then yes, but it’s very easy to lose a session as well, and yeah, we’ll see how we go in FP3.”

Qualifying to determine Sunday’s starting order will kick off at 00:00 AEST.

Image: Sam Bagnall/Sutton 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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