Liam Lawson made an encouraging start to his Austrian Grand Prix weekend, finishing ninth fastest in Friday’s second practice session despite missing valuable track time earlier in the day at the Red Bull Ring.
The Racing Bulls driver sat out the opening practice session as the team fulfilled Formula One’s rookie driver requirements, handing his car over to Japanese reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa. That left Lawson with just one hour of running on Friday to get up to speed around the fast and demanding Spielberg circuit.
Despite the limited preparation, the Kiwi quickly settled into a rhythm and ended FP2 inside the top ten with a best lap of 1:08.235 after completing 34 laps.
“It was a solid afternoon overall,” Lawson said afterwards.
“I missed FP1 this morning, so I had a bit of catching up to do. The car felt pretty good from the beginning, which helped me get up to speed quickly.
“It’s incredibly tight in the midfield, so we’ll need to keep working hard overnight and make sure we find those small gains that can make a difference.”
Lawson spent the opening stages of FP2 working through the medium tyre programme before switching to soft tyres during the qualifying simulations. The tyre change immediately produced gains, with the New Zealander steadily improving his pace before setting his quickest lap of the session.
He later returned to the track on medium tyres for a longer race-style run, focusing on gathering data ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The performance also put Lawson ahead of teammate Arvid Lindblad, who finished 12th fastest and less than two tenths behind the Kiwi.
At the front, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli continued his impressive form by topping both Friday practice sessions. The championship leader produced a stunning lap of 1:07.014 in FP2 to edge out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by 0.237 seconds, while Lando Norris completed the top three.
Max Verstappen finished fourth despite a challenging day that included car issues in FP1 and complaints about tyre performance. Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Ferrari, ahead of George Russell and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.
Charles Leclerc, returning to the cockpit after sitting out FP1, ended the session eighth, with Lawson and Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto rounding out the top ten.
Friday’s opening practice session had seen Antonelli narrowly lead teammate Russell in a Mercedes one-two. Antonelli’s benchmark of 1:07.796 left him just 0.040 seconds clear, while Piastri finished third.
The session featured several interruptions and technical problems throughout the field. Verstappen lost significant running time after Red Bull encountered an anti-stall issue, while reigning world champion Lando Norris was delayed by a hydraulic problem.
Several drivers also struggled with braking performance in the hot Austrian conditions, as track temperatures climbed beyond 50 degrees Celsius, causing multiple lock-ups at Turns 1 and 3.
Racing Bulls showed promising speed in FP1 despite Lawson’s absence. Lindblad impressed by finishing sixth fastest, while Iwasa placed 15th during his rookie outing in Lawson’s car.
Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic was the standout rookie performer, ending the session tenth while deputising for Leclerc.
FP2 brought further drama for Cadillac. Sergio Perez triggered an early Virtual Safety Car after stopping on track with a mechanical issue, while teammate Valtteri Bottas later reported smoke inside the cockpit before a small fire was extinguished in the pit lane. Neither driver returned to the track, leaving the American squad with significant work to complete before Saturday.
For Lawson, however, Friday provided a solid foundation. Having scored a career-best sixth-place finish at the Red Bull Ring last season, the New Zealander will now look to build on a promising start when final practice and qualifying take place on Saturday 10:30 PM and Sunday 2:00 AM (NZST).
Header Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
