Liam Lawson shines in Austria as Fernando Alonso reveals tactical use of the Racing Bulls driver. Liam Lawson scores his best F1 result in Austria as Alonso reveals post-race he used the Racing Bulls driver tactically.

From Rivals to Unwitting Teammates — at Least for Lawson
After securing 9th place at the Spanish GP in Barcelona — his first points of the season — Fernando Alonso followed up with two consecutive seventh-place finishes, including at the Austrian Grand Prix. The two-time world champion reached this result despite facing multiple challenges. In addition to the heat, Alonso had to defend in the final laps from Gabriel Bortoleto, his protégé at A14 Management, who scored his first career points at Spielberg.

“Starting 11th, I’m very happy to finish 7th,” Fernando Alonso said. “Our one-stop strategy worked very well. I had doubts because of the heat, but it paid off and the team made the right call. I was able to use DRS for the entire race and got a bit lucky in the final laps — one more lap would have been too much. It’s great to end a tough weekend this way, and the hunger within the team is clear. Let’s carry this momentum to Silverstone.”

An intriguing moment was captured by DAZN after the race: a conversation between Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson. The Spaniard explained to the Racing Bulls driver — who finished 6th, earning his best result in Formula 1 — why he never tried to overtake him, even while trailing. Instead, Fernando Alonso admitted to using Lawson’s DRS to preserve tire life and manage his own pace.

Despite a history of tension between the two, Liam Lawson cracked his first smiles as Fernando Alonso congratulated him. The New Zealander commented on his race with satisfaction: “It was a great weekend, and it feels really good to have executed everything well. So far this season’s been tough — there’s been potential, but this time we were fast where it mattered and brought it home.”

“After the first lap, I thought the race might be over, but the team made a bold call with the one-stop strategy, and it worked perfectly. Full credit to them — they’ve worked really hard behind the scenes and I’m very proud. The car was genuinely quick all weekend, and we’re constantly pushing and making small tweaks to make it more comfortable. Now the goal is to keep this momentum going for the rest of the season. We need to take the positives, keep fighting, and keep scoring points.”