Liam Lawson did unimaginable when he recorded a time better than Max Verstappen in Q2 of the Singapore Grand Prix to eliminate the 2 time World Champion. His mere act saw Red Bull not seeing Q3 since the Russian Grand Prix 2018. Moreover, that could also cause the end of Red Bull’s undefeated streak. Yet, the Kiwi driver revealed during his post-qualifying interview that he didn’t maximize the potential of his car.
Driving AlphaTauri is one of the biggest tasks of this season; ask Nyck de Vries. Though the car showed the potential to be in Q3, expecting this from a three-race old could only be far-fetched. But Lawson, yet again, did something impressive.
After Monza’s P11, it wasn’t expected by the Red Bull academy driver to do better. But indeed, this performance was better. However, the hunger of an F1 driver never dies.
Liam Lawson not satisfied after Singapore heroics
After the qualifying, Lawrence Barreto asked the 21-year-old driver about his performance. Expecting an overjoyed reaction, the F1 presenter received a rather stoic response from the Red Bull academy graduate.
“Ah! It’s okay. It’s definitely exciting to be in Q3. But we definitely didn’t maximize. Something we have to look at. I didn’t feel that jump in the grip for the last lap. Happy to be in Q3, but still more potential in there,” said Lawson.
While Lawson agrees that it’s a good place to start in Singapore, he is still hesitant to celebrate too much. He believes two hours in Singapore are long and thinks anything can happen.
But regardless of that, the hierarchy at Red Bull would be happy with him.
The best audition ever?
After a solid performance in Monza, Helmut Marko talked about the possibility of Lawson getting a seat in F1. He claimed that things can change quickly in the sport, and they have four seats. So, with a reserve driver role or a starting position on the grid, anything is possible.
Meanwhile, some experts are also thrilled by the extraordinary exhibitions by Lawson. Karun Chandhok even went ahead and called the Super Formula driver at par with Oscar Piastri.
Certainly, he grabbed the rare opportunity with both hands, and it’s hard to argue whether it could have been better. Therefore, a future in F1 is a possibility; even if a vacancy at Red Bull is not created, there are always other teams who are also looking.
