The Mercedes cars delivered a strong performance, highlighted by George Russell’s second-place finish, while Kimi Antonelli consistently pressured Lawson throughout the race.
The pivotal moment with Antonelli
To defend against a potential undercut from Mercedes driver Antonelli, Lawson pitted around lap 21 and returned to the track in tenth position, just ahead of the Italian. Antonelli chose not to attack immediately, but as soon as they reached the straight, he overtook Lawson. This was partly due to an error by Lawson, leaving him unprepared for Antonelli’s move.
After losing the position, Lawson tried to maintain his pace, and during the final 15 laps, he created a DRS train extending up to eighth place. Despite pressure from Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton, Lawson managed to defend his fifth-place finish.
While disappointed to have missed out on the podium, which Carlos Sainz successfully claimed, Lawson expressed satisfaction with securing fifth, particularly considering the caliber of drivers he competed against.
Lawson admits his mistake
“I don’t think we had the pace today to reach the podium, although I would have liked that,” Lawson admitted after the race. “Starting from there, you naturally hope to make it possible or at least feel it could happen. And today, we tried everything.”
He added that the team made the right strategy decisions at the pit stops: “I think we made the right choices in the pits, attempting to cover Kimi [Antonelli], but today we just didn’t have the pace. It’s partially frustrating, but looking at the bigger picture, finishing fifth is a solid result. We’ll take it and move forward from here.”
Reflecting on his error during the battle with Antonelli, Lawson admitted: “I ran out of battery energy, yes. I’m so frustrated. You see the display, enter the straight, and know that halfway down, you’ll have nothing left. It’s something I’ve learned from, making sure that when other drivers approached, it didn’t happen again. Throughout the lap, I ensured I always had energy.”
“Realistically, Antonelli finished more than ten seconds ahead of me. So I don’t think I could have held him back for 30 laps. It was already tough enough to keep the other group behind me.”
Defending the fifth position
After being overtaken by Kimi Antonelli, Lawson had to fend off Yuki Tsunoda to maintain fifth place—a task that was far from easy. “Yes, it was definitely difficult. Yuki Tsunoda had a fresh set of medium tires, giving him better grip. I knew he would likely pass me. I was preparing for it because I expected him to catch up quickly and be faster than me.”
Lawson also praised Red Bull’s performance during the race: “Looking at Max [Verstappen], they had a great race today and the car looked strong. So when I saw Tsunoda with a better tire, I expected him to catch me quickly.”
The driver’s perspective
From an outside perspective, the race might seem straightforward, but inside the cockpit, it was anything but. Liam Lawson explained: “It might seem easy from the outside, but in the car, you know your real situation. Honestly, I had no idea of my exact position until we crossed the finish line, but I knew it was decent considering the cars behind me.”
“So naturally, in the car, you try everything to keep other cars behind you. It was the same with Leclerc, and also with Kimi [Antonelli] at the start. Towards the end, I took a few more risks to maintain position. It wasn’t easy.”
Despite the challenges, the result is encouraging for upcoming races. Red Bull showed strong pace throughout the weekend, and Lawson’s fifth-place finish is proof of that. “It’s extremely positive. The key takeaway is that our car performed consistently well across all aspects and on every type of circuit,” he concluded.
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