Liam Lawson’s first outing with Red Bull took a brutal turn at the Australian GP, where a bold strategy call by the young driver and his team ended in disaster.
The New Zealander’s race came to a halt on lap 47 at Melbourne’s Albert Park, making him the last of six drivers to crash out in treacherous conditions.
The trouble struck when a sudden downpour hit the circuit. Running outside the points on medium slick tyres, Lawson and Red Bull opted to gamble by staying out rather than pitting for intermediates.
The decision backfired spectacularly as Lawson lost control exiting Turn 1 and slammed into the wall. “We were on the same page,” Lawson said afterwards. “We wanted to take a risk. So we shared that gamble together. I was just apologising for putting the car in the wall.”
The crash capped off a weekend to forget for Lawson. Red Bull had already been forced to skip final practice due to a turbo failure, and in qualifying, Lawson admitted to making “a stupid mistake” that left them stuck in Q1.
Starting from the pit lane after late setup tweaks for the wet conditions, the team struggled from the outset.
“We were hoping for a majority wet race,” Lawson explained. “It dried up more than we thought, so we struggled a lot with the fronts in the first stint, just overheating. When it started raining again, we thought it’d only be sector three, but it was everywhere—I couldn’t keep it on track.”
Despite the chaos, Lawson remained philosophical. Asked what he’d learned from the ordeal, he said: “Not much, honestly. I’m just looking forward to going to China and resetting.”
The 23-year-old, no stranger to setbacks in his career, added: “It’s something I’ve been through plenty of times before. China’s a sprint weekend, so it’ll be tough, but I’m excited to get back at it.”
Lawson’s adaptation to the RB21 hasn’t been the issue, with the Kiwi feeling comfortable since pre-season testing. “It’s not like I wasn’t adapted,” he said. “It’s just been a tough weekend.”
Red Bull are now eager to put Australia behind them as they head to the Chinese Grand Prix, set for 56 laps around the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit on March 23rd. For Lawson and the team, it’s a chance to hit the reset button, and they’ll need to roll the dice smarter next time.
