Lawson confident despite “frustrating” Singapore crash

Liam Lawson’s confidence in Racing Bulls’ pace was overshadowed by a “frustrating” crash under the Singapore floodlights, stripping the Kiwi of valuable representative running on a crucial Friday night.

With cloud cover offering some respite from the Singapore heat, Lawson was the first to lead the field out of the pitlane at the start of a busy Free Practice 1.

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Launching on the hard compound, the Kiwi needed time to settle into rhythm, lapping over 1.8 seconds off the early benchmark while his teammate, Isack Hadjar, circulated comfortably within the confines of the top ten. 

After a brief reset in the garage, Lawson returned on another set of the white-marked tyres, though purple sectors proved a tough ask.

By the halfway point, Hadjar had climbed to P3 on the timing sheets, while Lawson finally found gains of his own, moving up to P7 with a lap just two-tenths shy of the front-running pace.

A second spell in the pitlane was followed by a switch to the soft compound with just over 20 minutes remaining. 

Three flying laps yielded his quickest effort of 1:32.461s, ultimately good enough for P14.

The session ended with Lawson back on the hard compound for a high-fuel program, before lining up for his first practice start of the weekend alongside the rest of the grid.

“I think [our pace is] very strong, I don’t know… you know, we don’t know what the others are doing,” Lawson said.

“We, obviously, know what we’re doing and we’re very happy with where the car is at, but, obviously, we have to keep chasing it cause it’s very, very close.

“We’ll make some more changes overnight and fine-tune it.

“I’ll learn from, obviously, what happened today, and then we’ll try and put it together tomorrow.”

Liam Lawson’s FP2 came to a premature end under the Singapore floodlights, with the Racing Bulls driver crashing heavily into the wall at Turn 17 after running off-line through the preceding corner.

The Kiwi had shown promising pace earlier in the hour, climbing as high as third on the timesheets with a 1:32.645s before slipping back into the midfield as the session unfolded. 

His night unravelled just moments after the mid-session Red Flag, however, when a snap of oversteer through Turn 16 sent him sliding into the outside wall.

Both right-side rims were destroyed on impact, tyres flew across the circuit, and sparks showered the pit entry as Lawson attempted to drag the wounded VCARB 02 home. 

“I got a little bit too much kerb in [Turn] 16 and it bounced me across to the left, and then I took too much kerb at [Turn] 17, and then just tried to carry the speed,” Lawson explained.

“And then right at the last minute, I lost it in the wall, so it’s a shame.

“I think, overall, the car is very fast; it’s been fast today.

“We had a difficult [FP1], I tried some things and have reverted, and it felt a lot better in [FP2], it felt a lot more comfortable up until that point, so yeah.

“It’s frustrating to, obviously, end the session in the wall, but up to that point it was strong.

“And at least short run pace looks quite good.” 

The damage proved too severe, forcing him to stop at the pit entry and triggering a second Red Flag in what was already a disrupted session.

It marked an abrupt end to Lawson’s Friday running, leaving his mechanics with a heavy repair job ahead of tonight’s crucial qualifying session.

But before the all-important shootout commences, Lawson will have one more hour of practice to ensure his overnight repairs are in working order.

Free Practice 3 will take place at 19:30 AEST tonight, followed by Qualifying to set the grid for Sunday’s main event at 23:00 AEST.

Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

2025 Singapore Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Friday, October 3rd:

FP1: 19:30 – 20:30

FP2: 23:00 – 00:00

Saturday, October 4th:

FP3: 19:30 – 20:30

Qualifying: 23:00 – 00:00

Sunday, October 5th:

Race: 23:00

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