Liam Lawson: “I’ve enjoyed getting to drive the car around such an iconic track”

Liam Lawson enjoyed his time behind the wheel of Scuderia AlphaTauri’s AT-03 during opening practice for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday as the team utilised one of its mandatory young driver sessions with the New Zealander.

Lawson was handed the chance to take part in place of regular driver Pierre Gasly, and despite a mixed session that included cold temperatures, rain and a red flag, he kept his composure well, although he ended up nineteenth fastest of the twenty cars on track.

The New Zealander, highly rated within the Red Bull Junior Team, says an opportunity to drive in a Formula 1 car around such an iconic track as Spa-Francorchamps was ‘crazy’, and he admitted the step up in performance compared to his usual ride in FIA Formula 2 was huge.

“I’ve enjoyed getting to drive the car around such an iconic track, it’s been a crazy experience,” said Lawson.  “The car was great to drive, the limit is so much further than I was ready for, it took a bit of time to get used to that, but I think I built up the pace steadily on the Hards and was ready to push on the Softs at the end, so it’s a bit of a shame I didn’t get the opportunity to really go for it.

“I want to say a big thank you to Scuderia AlphaTauri and Red Bull for giving me this opportunity. It’s been really cool spending the weekend with the team, it’s a crazy step up from F2.

“There’s so many more people than I’m used to, but having this opportunity is really great for us young drivers so we can understand what it’s like in an F1 team and learn as much as we can. I’ve loved every second of today and am extremely appreciative for this opportunity.”

Jonathan Eddolls, the Chief Race Engineer at AlphaTauri, praised the work Lawson managed during the session amid the difficult conditions, feeling the New Zealander did everything that was expected of him.

“It was great to welcome Liam back to the team, with him taking over the FP1 testing duties in Pierre’s AT03,” said Eddolls.  “The conditions were not straightforward for his session – cold temperatures, hard tyres, damp track, a Red Flag and rain at the end of the session – but he kept his head down and completed all of the work we asked of him.

“He did a good job.”