Liam Lawson looks back on an ‘interesting’ first day behind the wheel of the RB22. The New Zealander only raced two Grands Prix for Red Bull last year, but is making a temporary return during the Dutch GP; he replaces an injured Isack Hadjar. During the sprint qualifying, he recorded the eleventh fastest time and was already eliminated in SQ2. “Frustrating,” Lawson reacted afterwards.
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In the last few months, Lawson had often managed to join the top ten. Due to the limited preparation at Red Bull, P11 is not a disappointing result, but in SQ1 Lawson had shown that there might have been more possible on Friday. In the first qualifying session, he was indeed faster than temporary teammate Max Verstappen.
Liam Lawson frustrated
Lawson confirmed afterwards that it had been a ‘frustrating’ afternoon. “Honestly, I don’t really know what to say,” he sighed somewhat disappointed. “It was certainly an interesting day. We definitely had the potential to finish at the front today, so that is frustrating. Normally you improve during qualifying, and we started SQ1 quite strong, but we didn’t make the same step as the rest,” he admitted.
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“We will look into it,” Lawson continued persistently. The weekend holds the sprint race, the regular qualifying, and the Grand Prix for him. “There was a lot to learn and so far I feel pretty good in the car,” the 24-year-old reflected on his first day back as a Red Bull driver. “I felt really comfortable during qualifying, so it’s a shame; I thought I would get through. Of course, we will do everything to fix it and get it sorted for qualifying on Saturday.”
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