Liam Lawson hit the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit twice on Thursday, taking a Blanchard Racing Team Gen3 Ford Mustang Supercar for a series of demonstration laps at the Australian Grand Prix.
The Kiwi admits he had an enjoyable time on the track and that he found the machinery among the most fun he has driven.
“This was lots of fun, honestly,” said Lawson after the drive. “It’s probably one of the most fun cars; it’s really raw.
“It’s very easy to compare it to Formula 1. In Formula 1, everything is very, very fast, but you’re much more connected with what’s going on in one of these. Manual shift with a sequential shifter is one of the most satisfying things in the world to use, and you’ve got three pedals as well, so you’re doing a lot more footwork.
“It’s a much more enjoyable way of driving. The car moves around a lot. It’s reasonably forgiving, but if you push it too much, you’re going to have a moment.
“You have a lot more weight transfer going on in these. I was trying to speed everything up, but if you do it too much you end up locking wheels or over-pushing entry.
“It’s definitely an art to drive it, and I think that’s why when you see guys at Formula 1 level go and do a co-driver experience, you never see anyone really get in and get it down straight away. It always takes time to adjust because it’s quite a unique skill. It’s tricky.
“It’s really cool once you get the rear moving. It’s controllable to slide it, but it destroys the tyres. You wouldn’t want to do it in a race, but on demo laps like that, I’m only doing three laps.”
The Red Bull reserve driver featured in two demonstration sessions and had Supercars icon James Courtney fo company on the second of those.
“I definitely pushed a lot harder with James than I did with anybody else, as I felt quite a bit of pressure when he got in next to me. He was my hero when I started go-kart racing, so it was a really cool experience.”
A Bathurst co-drive in the future is not out of the question for Lawson, who admitted it’s a bucket list event.
“A co-driver thing would be amazing to do if I could jump in, one that is definitely the dream,” he said.
“Every driver has their bucket list of races they want to do, and Bathurst is something I grew up watching, so I’d love to do it.”
Lawson is in the Formula 1 paddock this weekend as Red Bull’s reserve driver.
Supercars return for their second race of the weekend at 4.55 pm on Friday, following on from Thursday’s opener where Matt Payne, who grew up on the same street as Lawson, finished third.
