Red Bull have confirmed that Liam Lawson will continue alongside Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, giving him a third weekend in the RB22. Isack Hadjar will miss a race as he continues recovering from a wrist injury. Lawson replaced Hadjar at Zandvoort and Monza, finishing seventh at Zandvoort before taking 14th at Monza. Hadjar will travel to Madrid to support the team, while Yuki Tsunoda will continue deputising for Lawson at Racing Bulls alongside rookie Arvid Lindblad. The decision gives Lawson a chance to impress on the Madring circuit. The move keeps Red Bull’s lineup unchanged for Madrid.
Red Bull announced, “After racing for the team in Zandvoort and Monza, Liam will continue to drive alongside Max at this week’s Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. The decision has been taken as Isack’s recovery continues to progress positively”. “While he is not yet ready to return to the cockpit, he will be in Madrid supporting the team. Everyone at Oracle Red Bull Racing looks forward to welcoming Isack back behind the wheel very soon.” The announcement confirms Lawson’s extended stand-in role, while Hadjar’s return will depend on his recovery and readiness to safely race again this weekend for now.
“I didn’t mean to”: Liam Lawson explains frustrating Red Bull incident at Monza
Liam Lawson had a disappointing outing at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza even though he had shown some good speed on the track. After getting off the line from the pits following a change of rear wing, the Red Bull driver quickly picked up some ground. But after the race resumed, Lawson came into contact with Nico Hulkenberg, causing damage to his front wing in the process. This meant Lawson had to go into the pits again, and he ended up crossing the line in 14th place, having suffered a loss compared to the rest of the field, which mostly did not require a pit stop after the red flag.
Discussing his race, Lawson told RacingNews365, “Yep, I had a good first lap from the pit lane and made up quite a few places. Then, at the restart, I lost part of my front wing with Nico. So yeah, I had to box for a new one and lost like 30 seconds. It’s a shame we had very good speed in the race, but with the way the strategy was, obviously nobody really boxed after that, other than the guys that boxed under the VSC. So we just had too much time to make up.” The result was especially frustrating given Lawson’s pace, but the incident ultimately left him with too much ground to recover.
