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New Zealander Liam Lawson finished 11th in the Italian Grand Prix on Monday morning (NZT) and could be asked to drive in Singapore if Danial Riccardo hasn’t recovered from surgery on his hand.
New Zealander Liam Lawson continues to prove he’s one to watch on the Formula One circuit, finishing in 11th place in the Italian Grand Prix on Monday morning (NZT).
Lawson, 21, completed his second F1 race in the Alpha Tauri car at Monza after being recruited as cover for Australian Daniel Riccardo, who is recovering from surgery on a hand he fractured in a practice crash at Zandvoort last month.
As just the 10th Kiwi to race in F1, Lawson has quickly become one of New Zealand’s most high profile members of the motorsport community and should have been satisfied to improve on his 13th placing in his debut in the rain-marred Dutch Grand Prix on August 28.
There is also a chance for Lawson to drive in Singapore on September 18, if Riccardo hasn’t fully recovered.
”I had a bad start which wasn’t ideal, and then we made two pit stops today,’’ Lawson said after the race. “I think the pace was okay but just finished shy of the points. A little bit disappointed with that. But I just want to say thank you for all your support messages, and support here at the track.’’
Despite the start of the race at Monza being delayed by more than 20 minutes after Lawson’s Alpha Tauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda suffering an engine failure before the race began, Lawson retained his composure to finish outside his first points by just one position.
After setting off on their formation lap, it was evident Tsunoda was in trouble and he quickly pulled over to the side of the track. Tsunoda’s car was smoking and he reported that the car’s engine had failed.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen secured a record 10th straight win, with a Red Bull one-two on Ferrari’s home track.
“That’s a nice stat,” Verstappen said on team radio immediately after the win.
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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One Italian Grand Prix.
Another flawless performance from the two-time defending champion saw Verstappen beat teammate Sergio Pérez by 6.802 seconds. Carlos Sainz Jr was third, 11.082 behind Verstappen and just ahead of Charles Leclerc as the two Ferrari drivers battled for the final spot on Monza’s iconic podium.
“I never would have believed that was possible, but we had to work for it today and that made it definitely a lot more fun,” Verstappen said.
Verstappen had started second, behind Sainz, but eventually got past him at the start of lap 15 and from then on – just like the rest of the season – no one could match the Red Bull pace.
The record became all but a foregone conclusion as Verstappen began to pull away, swiftly building an advantage of more than five seconds five laps later.
“Very tough, very tough. It can’t get any tougher than it was today,” Sainz said. “To keep up with the Red Bulls, I paid the price with the rear tyres, but I did everything I could to defend.”
The victory also saw Verstappen increase his huge championship lead to 145 points in a crushingly dominant season for the 25-year-old Dutchman.
Verstappen has won 12 of the 14 races for unbeaten Red Bull and matched Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of nine straight victories last weekend at the Dutch GP. Pérez has the other two victories.
It was a second straight victory for Verstappen at Monza. Before last year he had never finished the Italian GP higher than fifth.
