Liam Lawson finished the Chinese Grand Prix in seventh place this Sunday, a result identical to the one obtained the day before during the Sprint race: a solid performance for the Racing Bulls driver.
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The best representative of the Red Bull clan at the finish ahead of Isack Hadjar, Lawson did not necessarily expect to leave with such a result given the initial course of the race.
The start of the race was indeed far from ideal for the New Zealander, but a well-executed strategy by his team and a steady pace in the final stints allowed him to climb up the rankings and secure a position in the top 10.
On par with the top team
This result also allows Racing Bulls to pull level with Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, a strong symbol for the sister team of the main structure.
“I’m quite happy with this result, I don’t think we expected it,” Lawson explained after the race. “The Safety Car came at the worst possible moment for us. We pitted and came back out thinking the race was practically over, but the pace was good at the end.”
Despite this encouraging result, the driver believes the team still lacks pure speed to compete with some of the midfield teams: “We didn’t have the pace to follow those in front. The Alpines and the Haases were really very strong today, but seventh place is still a very good result.”
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Lawson however highlights the quality of his team’s strategic work during the race: “Strategy-wise, we did everything as we should have. If we can find a bit more speed in the car, then it will be very good for the future.”
Lindblad makes a mistake
On the other side of the garage, Arvid Lindblad’s weekend was much more complicated. The young driver encountered several mechanical problems that significantly limited his track time, making his learning of the circuit and the car particularly difficult. While he also acknowledges some mistakes on his part, notably a spin during the race, the rookie believes that circumstances did not play in his favor.
“It wasn’t a very good race,” he admitted. “The first lap was okay and everything was going pretty well before the Safety Car. I wasn’t extremely fast, but the pace was okay. The timing of the safety car was unfortunate for us: if we had stopped, we would have had to pit again later.”
In the end, Lindblad finished in twelfth place after a weekend he himself described as particularly difficult: “It was a complicated weekend, with many mistakes on my part and several technical problems. But that’s how it is, it’s part of the learning process.”
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