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NZ Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Formula 1: Liam Lawson lands vital punch in Red Bull battle with Isack Hadjar
But in the battle to return to Red Bull after his two-race demotion, Lawson has done himself a world of good in Belgium. Here's what we learned at Spa-Francorchamps. The fightback begins While the narrative of Lawson v Hadjar plays out each week, we hadn't actually seen it on track until Belgium. Now that we have, though, you'd have to award it to the Kiwi in straight sets. You cannot argue that Hadjar has, without question, outperformed Lawson over the course of their time together in 2025. He has five points finishes to Lawson's three, and is still six clear in the drivers' championship. Recency bias, though, sides with the Kiwi. Since Monaco, Lawson has scored all 16 of his points, while Hadjar has managed 15. In fact, Hadjar hasn't scored a point since Spain, before Lawson outperformed him in Austria, before Belgium. Make no mistake, this is not the end of the battle between Lawson and Hadjar by any means. The 20-year-old has been a revelation at Racing Bulls, and has done all the right things to take his career to another level next year. The pair share a very close relationship, with Lawson widely understood to have taken on a mentoring role for his younger teammate. But in a sport where results speak louder than anything else, Lawson's recent results over Hadjar make for very good reading in the race to possibly step into Red Bull next year. Bragging rights Lawson's overtake on his teammate came at the same time as the crossover from wet to slick tyres. Getting ahead when he did set Lawson up as Racing Bulls' lead car, and gave him the first pit stop as a result. Had he not pulled that off, Lawson would have been forced to stay out for one lap longer, and lose any chance of a points finish. In Melbourne, the first of Lawson's two races with Red Bull, the opposite occurred, and the Kiwi was left out on slick tyres when he needed to pit for intermediates, only to spin out as Max Verstappen was preferred. In football, the adage is that these things tend to even out over the course of a season. And while not necessarily 100% the same, it's good to see a bit of fortune finally fall Lawson's way for once. Hope for Yuki? A 12th-place finish in the grand prix might not stand out as a season-saving result, but there were very good signs for Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda over the course of the weekend. Like Lawson before him, Tsunoda has struggled to come to grips with Red Bull's RB21, a car that only Verstappen seems to be able to get the best out of. But having seen Red Bull team principal Christian Horner sacked in the two-week break between Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, Tsunoda could stand to benefit more than anyone else. Horner's replacement, Laurent Mekies, is Tsunoda's former boss with Racing Bulls and AlphaTauri. And with that familiar figure, the Japanese driver managed his best qualifying position of seventh. Tsunoda's future is by no means secure. His links to Honda will almost certainly mean his exit at the end of the year, when the Japanese engine supplier leaves Red Bull for Aston Martin. However, if Mekies' presence at Red Bull gives him any kind of lift, Lawson and Hadjar could have company in their fight for that second seat. Lawson silences Saubers Since Spain, Sauber have quietly become Formula One's dark horse. Under the guidance of former Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, the soon-to-be Audi team are on course for their biggest points haul in years. Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto have together scored 43 points to climb to sixth in the constructors' championship, two clear of Racing Bulls in seventh. That total could arguably have been more, were it not for running into Lawson at Spa. After his first and only pitstop, Lawson emerged ahead of Hulkenberg, fresh from his first podium at Silverstone. The German veteran had plenty of opportunity to get around the Kiwi, but couldn't manage, and even saw his teammate demand to let him by to have his own crack at Lawson. It made no difference, as Lawson held off Bortoleto for the rest of the race. Lawson's junior categories were highlighted by his aggressive nature. This season, though, we've seen his defence come to the fore. Given more time, Lawson should begin to cash in on the promise that Red Bull saw, and give their second seat to, after just 11 grands prix. One to go Even though we've just had a two-week break between Britain and Belgium, Formula One is readying up for the final race of the first block of the season. Next week's race in Hungary is the last before the month-long summer break, giving teams the chance to reset. However, there is still a race to get through. The Hungaroring is a tough circuit, with plenty of low speed corners for drivers to navigate, while Hungary's high temperatures make it a challenge for drivers to navigate wear on their tyres. For Lawson, there's no shortage of past experience. Through Formula Three and Formula Two, he's raced there six times all up. His best result, though, is a sixth-place, achieved in 2022. Three years on, though, Lawson is a much better driver than he was in his F2 days, and will hopefully be able to continue on the trajectory he's heading into the summer with. Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.
News18
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- News18
'We Can Win The Race With Lewis': Charles Leclerc Takes Sarcastic Dig At Hamilton
Last Updated: Ferrari's Charles Leclerc clashed with his engineer over tire strategy at the Emilia Romagna GP, prioritising Lewis Hamilton, leading to a missed pit window and affecting his race. Ferrari's star driver Charles Leclerc, who finished on the podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last month, was seen taking a massive dig at his race engineer during the Emilia Romagna GP on Sunday, May 18, as they contemplated prioritising Lewis Hamilton over him. In lap 46 of the Imola GP, Leclerc was in P4 and was maintaining his time after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli pulled off the track and a safety car was deployed. Most drivers look to change their car tires during this time and Leclerc was discussing similar strategies with his race engineer Xavi before certain statements from the latter infuriated him. Asking if he can pit to change tires, Leclerc was told that Hamilton doesn't want to pit. 'I don't care, I don't care. We're speaking about ourselves," Leclerc said on the team radio. The mess didn't end there. When Leclerc decided to pit, he saw Hamilton entering the pits before him and intent on not waiting behind the latter to change tires, he kept running on the old ones. By the time Leclerc took a round around the track, the pit window closed. As a result, he had to stay with the hard tires he got on Lap 32. Hamilton, on the other hand, dropped from P3 to P7, but with advantageous soft tires. 'Yeah, yeah, I think we can win the race with Lewis," Leclerc said. Thanks to a superior tire advantage, the seven-time world champion was able to pass Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar, Alex Albon and Leclerc to finish the race in P4. While the latter was unhappy with how things panned out for him at the Imola GP, Hamilton was cheerful. 'There's still work to do, especially over one lap, but if we can keep building on days like this, we'll be in the mix for podiums. Grazie mille tifosi: your support means the world, and I hope we made you proud today," Hamilton said. First Published:
Otago Daily Times
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
Lawson 'pretty disappointed' after difficult weekend
Liam Lawson looks on in the garage during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari this morning. Another disappointing outing for New Zealand driver Liam Lawson in Formula 1. The Racing Bulls' driver finished 14th in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Italy after starting 15th on the grid. As has become the norm for the 23-year-old this season, his problems started during qualifying. He was unable to get out of Q3 on Sunday as a couple of crashes prevented him from attempting a second fast lap. He admitted afterwards that passing during the race would be difficult on the Imola track and that proved to be the case. Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the race from the McLaren's of Lando Norris and championship leader Oscar Piastri. Verstappen and fourth-placed Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari were beneficiaries of the numerous safety cars during the race, while Lawson was one of many who came off worse. Safety car interventions allow teams to pit a car quicker than during race mode because the field is running at slower speeds. It also affects team strategies with the choice of tyres. "Pretty disappointed for everybody, we just got caught by safety cars today," Lawson said afterwards. "We had good potential and had pace all weekend but unfortunately we weren't able to show it and that's what put us down the back." He ran as high as 13th and as low as 18th. His final result helped by Kimi Antonelli and Esteban Ocon failing to finish. It means Lawson is still to pick up a championship point in seven GP's so far this season. His Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar finished ninth and took his season tally to seven points. Lawson is one of five drivers yet to pick up any points. "It's been a difficult weekend but I'll keep working hard to turn it around," Lawson said. "We are always learning with the car, every weekend I'm getting more used to it, we are heading in the right direction. Round eight is at Monaco next weekend. "Monaco is an iconic track and it is my first time, I'm excited to get there; it is very special and will be one to get up to speed with quite quickly. I'm looking forward to going there and getting right back into it." Meanwhile Piastri's lead in the championship has been cut to 13 points over his McLaren teammate Lando Norris with another nine points back to Max Verstappen.
New Straits Times
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Tsunoda and Colapinto crash in Imola qualifying
IMOLA, Italy: Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine's returning rookie Franco Colapinto crashed heavily in the first phase of qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at Imola today. The Red Bull smashed backwards into the tyre wall at turn five, the car lifting into the air with the impact. It then flipped before landing upside down on the roll hoop and righting itself again. Tsunoda climbed out of the car and appeared unhurt but was taken to the circuit medical centre for checks while the session was halted for repairs to the tyre barriers. "Oh my god! I just saw the video. Is he OK?" exclaimed Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson, who lost the Red Bull seat to Tsunoda earlier this season, over the team radio after images were shown on the big screens. The session resumed after a 15-minute break but red flags were waved again when Colapinto, the Argentine preparing for his Alpine debut as replacement for dropped Australian Jack Doohan, crashed. Colapinto went onto the grass approaching Tamburello and lost control right at the end of the initial session, spinning and hitting the barrier head-on with the front suspension smashed. The Argentine, who raced nine times for Williams at the end of last year and had a number of crashes while also scoring precious points, had already set a lap time good enough to progress to phase two. - REUTERS
Straits Times
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Tsunoda and Colapinto crash in Imola qualifying
IMOLA, Italy - Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine's returning rookie Franco Colapinto crashed heavily in the first phase of qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday. The Red Bull smashed backwards into the tyre wall at turn five, the car lifting into the air with the impact. It then flipped before landing upside down on the roll hoop and righting itself again. Tsunoda climbed out of the car and appeared unhurt but was taken to the circuit medical centre for checks while the session was halted for repairs to the tyre barriers. "Oh my god! I just saw the video. Is he OK?" exclaimed Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson, who lost the Red Bull seat to Tsunoda earlier this season, over the team radio after images were shown on the big screens. The session resumed after a 15-minute break but red flags were waved again when Colapinto, the Argentine preparing for his Alpine debut as replacement for dropped Australian Jack Doohan, crashed. Colapinto went onto the grass approaching Tamburello and lost control right at the end of the initial session, spinning and hitting the barrier head-on with the front suspension smashed. The Argentine, who raced nine times for Williams at the end of last year and had a number of crashes while also scoring precious points, had already set a lap time good enough to progress to phase two. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
