Liam Lawson has been the talk of the town as he has delivered some outstanding performances with AlphaTauri recently. The New Zealander has competed in five races so far and has already scored a couple of points. Although the 21-year-old has seemed flawless so far, he did have a nervy moment in his second race at Monza.
AlphaTauri did not have the best of starts at the Italian Grand Prix as Yuki Tsunoda retired on the formation lap due to a power unit failure. As a result, Lawson didn’t have anyone in a like-for-like car to help him compare his performance with someone else.
Liam Lawson recollects the horrendous moment he had at Monza
In a recent interview, Liam Lawson was asked if the F1 cars have “cupholders or stuff“. The interviewer’s question prompted the New Zealander to recollect an anxious moment he had at the Italian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old began his reply by stating how drivers have a drinks tube, something that he is not used to using since he never had the same in his career previously. He then added, “When I went to use it, it got stuck in my nose“.
Liam Lawson has revealed that his drinks tube got stuck in his nose during the Italian Grand Prix 😭
[@TheProject_NZ] #F1 pic.twitter.com/wYpS2WXxku
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) October 15, 2023
Lawson stated that as a result of this incident, he began “stressing” as he feared that he will have to drive the whole race with the drinks tube stuck in his nose. However, fortunately for him, there was a safety car soon after that gave him the time to remove the tube.
He then concluded by stating that he did not use the tube after during the race as he was afraid. Since Lawson was able to keep his nerves in such a difficult moment, it just highlights his resilience and ability to overcome unexpected challenges.
Horner expects much more from Lawson in times ahead
Liam Lawson has so far outperformed Yuki Tsunoda in their head-to-head battles at AlphaTauri. The New Zealander has defeated the 23-year-old 3-1 in the few races that he has taken part in so far. Since Lawson has been so impressive, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also had nothing but praises for him.
While speaking to reporters in Qatar (as quoted by planetf1.com) the Briton said, “I think he’s done a great job. You know, jumping in with zero mileage in the car and he’s acquitted himself well as a Grand Prix driver, and I think he’s caught all our attention in terms of the job that he’s done. It certainly won’t be his last race in F1. I’m sure of that with what he’s done in these five races. I think that he’s demonstrated that he deserves an opportunity in the future“.
However, despite impressing many following his recent performances, Lawson has failed to secure a race seat for the 2024 season. Instead, AlphaTauri have decided to stick with Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo. Meanwhile, Lawson will resume his duties as a reserve driver.
