Christian Horner has expressed confidence in Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar’s ability to recover after both drivers endured a challenging Australian Grand Prix, failing to see the chequered flag.
On Sunday, Red Bull’s latest addition, Lawson, and Racing Bulls rookie Hadjar faced separate crashes at Turn 2. Lawson’s incident occurred in the late stages of the race when rain hit the track. At the same time, Hadjar’s troubles began even before the Grand Prix officially started, spinning out on the formation lap.
For Lawson, the Lap 47 retirement capped off a frustrating debut weekend. His struggles began in qualifying, where he failed to progress beyond the first session. This was compounded by a reliability issue that forced him to sit out the final practice session.
Reflecting on the weekend, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner acknowledged the difficulties Lawson faced.
“It was a tough one for him,” Horner admitted.
“We made adjustments to add more downforce to the car, but overtaking here is tricky. Since he was outside the points, we took a gamble by leaving him out longer, hoping conditions might turn in our favour. Unfortunately, that coincided with the rain getting heavier, so it’s hard to pin the blame on him for that.”
Despite the setbacks, Horner pointed to a positive takeaway from the race:
“One encouraging sign was his pace on dry tyres—he set the Grand Prix’s second-fastest lap time with a 22.9, compared to Max’s 23.0 and Lando’s 22.1. That shows his speed is there.
“But missing the final practice session put him on the back foot, and the pressure built from there. He locked up on his second set of tyres, and even though he was improving on his third, another mistake cost him time.
“The next race will also be challenging, with the Sprint format and a track he hasn’t raced on before, but he’s resilient. This weekend wasn’t a true reflection of his capabilities.”
Meanwhile, Hadjar’s race ended before it even started, as he spun on the formation lap, bringing a heartbreaking conclusion to what had otherwise been an impressive debut.
The Racing Bulls driver had caught attention throughout the weekend, narrowly missing out on a top-10 qualifying position and consistently being the fastest rookie in two of the three practice sessions.
However, a loss of grip while applying throttle at Turn 2 ended his race prematurely, leading to an emotional scene in the paddock where Anthony Hamilton was seen consoling him.
Horner sympathized with Hadjar’s disappointment.
“It was tough to see him so devastated,” Horner said. “It was his first Grand Prix, and obviously, that’s not how he wanted it to go.
“But looking at the bigger picture, he should take confidence from how well he performed in practice and qualifying. It’s easy to forget that these guys are still very young, and emotions run high.
“Once he reflects on the weekend, he’ll see that there were plenty of positives. He’s got a bright future ahead.”
Header Image: Red Bull Content Pool
