Liam Lawson crossed the line in 13th place at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but post-race penalties saw the Kiwi drop down to 17th after two separate incidents on track.
Lawson was handed a five-second penalty for colliding with Lance Stroll during a safety car period and later received an additional 10-second penalty following a bold move on Nico Hülkenberg that race officials deemed too aggressive.
“Honestly, the only way I could make a move was by diving in quite late,” Lawson said after the race.
“There was no intention to make contact — it just ended up that way. The final stint felt alright, but it’s a shame how it all played out.”
Despite finishing ahead of Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar on the road, the combined penalties pushed the 23-year-old four positions back. Lawson had already been on the back foot after qualifying 17th due to a DRS issue that hampered his one-lap pace.
“I was pretty much stuck behind another car the entire race,” he explained.
“The car was very fast in qualifying. The car was fast in the race, but we don’t have a result to show it.”
“But there’s only so much you can do from the back.”
Lawson’s choice to begin the race on medium tyres was intended to give him a strategic edge over Hadjar, who started on the softer compound. But any hopes of extending his stint were dashed by the high tyre degradation around Bahrain’s punishing circuit, which quickly nullified the plan.
At the front, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri delivered a commanding drive from pole to secure his second win of the season, cutting into the points lead of teammate Lando Norris.
Norris had received an early 5-second penalty for a false start out of his starting grid box.
Piastri held off an early charge from Mercedes’ George Russell after a safety car restart and never looked back.
“It’s been an amazing weekend.
“To get it done like this feels really good,” Piastri said.
Russell managed to cling to second, fending off a late attack from Norris, who had fought his way up from sixth on the grid. Russell was potentially facing a penalty after his drag reduction system (DRS) was opened outside of an approved window but was later given the all-clear and held onto this second place.
Despite finishing third, Norris retains the championship lead by three points over Piastri. Piastri is now only 3 points behind Norris in the driver standings.
McLaren are now ahead by 58 points in the Constructor’s Championship.
Max Verstappen, who crossed the line sixth after an eventful race that included a slow pit stop and overheating issues, sits five points further back in third.
Further down the field, Yuki Tsunoda earned his first points since stepping into the Red Bull seat — and became the first driver outside of Verstappen to score for the team since November — by finishing ninth. Oliver Bearman grabbed the final point in 10th for Haas, while teammate Esteban Ocon came home eighth.
Carlos Sainz was the sole race retiree, forced out after sustaining damage in a collision with Tsunoda that triggered the earlier safety car and later penalised for an incident with Kimi Antonelli and then retired the car.
Nico Hülkenberg was later disqualified from the Bahrain Grand Prix post-race over a skid block breach.
Formula 1 returns next week for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The Grand Prix is scheduled for Monday, 21st April, at 5 am NZT.
Header Image: Kym Illman/Getty Images
