Liam Lawson has continued his strong run of form in Formula 1, scoring points for a fourth consecutive race with a ninth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Racing Bulls driver started and finished ninth at the Red Bull Ring, adding another two points to his championship tally as the team secured a third straight double-points finish. Teammate Arvid Lindblad followed him home in 10th.
It was a hot and demanding afternoon in Spielberg, with teams managing tyre wear and brake temperatures throughout the 71-lap race.
Lawson faced an early concern when he reported a possible fire in his car during the opening laps. Fortunately for the Kiwi, the issue did not develop further and he was able to continue without losing ground.
“It was really hot out there today, but overall it was a good race,” Lawson said.
“Tyre degradation was pretty much as we expected, which meant we were able to stick to our plan. In the first stint, we were managing some very high brake temperatures, but that settled down after a few laps.”
Lawson spent much of the race battling around the edge of the top 10. During the pit stop cycle, Lindblad briefly moved ahead after stopping earlier, but Lawson regained the position following the second round of stops and remained there to the chequered flag.
“There was also a miscommunication between Arvid and I, so I was surprised when we ended up racing into Turn 4, but I was able to regain the position after the second pit stop,” Lawson said.
“We made a good step forward with the car this weekend, and the pace was strong throughout the race. To come away with double points is a great result for the team, and we’ll be looking to keep that momentum going. A sprint weekend at Silverstone gives us another great opportunity, and I’m really looking forward to getting back out there.”
The result moves Lawson to 30 points for the season and keeps him 10th in the Drivers’ Championship.
At the front, George Russell converted pole position into victory for Mercedes after leading much of the race.
Russell made a clean start and held the lead into Turn 1, while Max Verstappen quickly recovered from his qualifying disappointment to move forward through the field.
The early stages featured a fierce battle between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with the pair racing wheel-to-wheel on several occasions before Verstappen eventually secured second place.
Russell built a healthy advantage during the opening stint, but the race tightened as differing pit strategies played out across the field.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli remained in contention throughout, although a pit stop shortly before a Virtual Safety Car cost him valuable time and left him chasing Russell and Verstappen in the second half of the race.
Verstappen gradually reduced the gap to the Mercedes driver in the closing stages, while Antonelli also began closing in from third.
With just a handful of laps remaining, the top three were separated by only a few seconds, but Russell managed the pressure to take the chequered flag 1.611 seconds ahead of Verstappen.
Antonelli crossed the line just 0.375 seconds behind the Red Bull driver in third after a late charge.
The victory was Russell’s second Grand Prix win of the season and moved him back to second in the championship standings, although Antonelli still holds a 40-point lead at the top.
Oscar Piastri finished fourth for McLaren ahead of Hamilton in fifth, while Isack Hadjar continued his impressive season with sixth place for Red Bull.
Lando Norris recovered to seventh after a difficult afternoon, while Charles Leclerc endured a frustrating race to finish eighth after starting on the front row.
Lawson and Lindblad completed the top 10 and secured another strong result for Racing Bulls.
Gabriel Bortoleto narrowly missed out on the points in 11th for Audi, ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Pierre Gasly, Ollie Bearman, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon followed, while Alex Albon and Fernando Alonso were the final classified finishers.
Several drivers failed to reach the finish. Lance Stroll retired with a suspected ERS issue, Carlos Sainz suffered an electrical problem that left his Williams stranded on the main straight, while Cadillac endured a difficult day as both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas retired early with brake-related issues.
For Racing Bulls, the Austrian Grand Prix marked another encouraging weekend as the team’s recent improvements translated into race-day results.
“It was a pretty perfect weekend for us here in Austria,” said Team Principal Alan Permane.
“The last couple of weekends we’ve had a quick car in Qualifying, which we haven’t been able to convert into race pace, but the whole team, both here at the track and the factories in Faenza and Milton Keynes, have worked very hard to turn that around.
“We brought an update here and had indications on Friday that our pace was decent on long runs, but you never really know until you get into the race. It was pretty clear today, though, that we were quick, so a huge well done to Liam and Arvid for bringing it home in 9th and 10th quite comfortably. We really look forward to getting to Silverstone next week.”
Formula 1 now heads to Silverstone for next weekend’s British Grand Prix, where Lawson will look to continue his run of four consecutive points finishes.
Header Image: Jörg Mitter via Red Bull Content Pool
