Liam Lawson has made an encouraging start to the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend in Malaysia, placing inside the top 10 in both Friday practice sessions as he waits for clarity over his Formula 1 future.
The New Zealander was eighth-fastest in FP1 at the Sepang International Circuit before backing that up with ninth in FP2, leading Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad in both sessions.
Lawson opened the weekend with a 1m 39.106s in FP1, finishing 1.586 seconds behind session leader Max Verstappen and narrowly ahead of Lindblad.
He improved to 1m 38.496s in the second session, leaving him 0.968s behind Charles Leclerc’s benchmark as Ferrari moved to the top of the timesheets.
Conditions proved demanding throughout Friday, with high track temperatures putting tyres and cars under significant stress. Despite rain remaining a possibility across the weekend, both practice sessions stayed dry.
Lawson’s performance comes at an important point in the season, with Racing Bulls yet to announce its 2027 driver pairing.
Speaking ahead of Friday’s running, the 24-year-old indicated he expects his future to become clearer soon.
“There are conversations obviously constantly being had in the background, but for me, it’s very much focused on the racing,” Lawson said.
“I don’t feel like there’s much more I could have done this year. We’ve had a good season and, at the moment, in a good place in the championship, and that’s where I’m trying to stay.
“Those decisions I’m sure will be made in the next few weeks.”
Lawson currently sits ninth in the Drivers’ Championship and is focused on maintaining his position over the closing stages of the season.
His solid Friday in Malaysia also helped him respond to a frustrating Azerbaijan Grand Prix one week earlier.
After missing Q3 in Baku, Lawson was running outside the points when contact from teammate Lindblad during a late Safety Car restart sent him down the order. He continued and recovered from 15th to finish 12th, while Lindblad went on to score points in seventh.
Reflecting on the incident ahead of the Malaysian weekend, Lawson said he had already moved on.
“I think from a team perspective, it’s obviously great that we were able to score points in a weekend that was looking like it was going to be very, very tough for us,” he said.
“In terms of the incident, I mean, from my side, there’s not really a lot to discuss. I think it’s more on Arvid’s side with the team.”
He added that while it “sucked for me”, he wasn’t “too worked up”.
“It’s not something that I really had any control over. I would just not like it to happen anymore.”
Lindblad faces an additional challenge this weekend after a power unit change means he will start Sunday’s race from the rear of the grid regardless of his qualifying result.
Sepang is familiar territory for Lawson, although Friday marked his first laps at the circuit in Formula 1 machinery.
He previously raced there during his junior career in 2018, enjoying considerable success in the F3 Asian Championship.
“I remember the thunderstorms, especially in the evenings, that were savage,” Lawson said.
“It could obviously be a big factor here, always can be. It would be very, very interesting with these cars as well. So let’s see.”
Formula 1 has returned to Sepang for the first time since 2017, with the Bahrain Grand Prix relocated to Malaysia following the conflict in the Middle East.
The 5.5-kilometre circuit presents a very different challenge from many venues on the current calendar, with its wide layout and combination of high-speed corners giving drivers more opportunities to race side-by-side.
“I think it’s going to be tough as a track. A lot of tyre deg normally here. Obviously, we have energy management to account for this year as well,” Lawson said.
At the front of the field, Leclerc set the fastest time of Friday with a 1m 37.528s in FP2. Verstappen was second despite setting his quickest lap on the medium tyre, while Isack Hadjar finished third.
Lawson will now turn his attention to qualifying, which begins at 9pm NZT on Saturday.
Header Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
