Liam Lawson Faces Clock Race to Get Car Ready for Qualifying

Rookie Red Bull driver Liam Lawson faced an unfortunate setback during the third practice session (FP3) of the Australian Grand Prix weekend. A power unit issue, specifically affecting the turbo, kept him off the track while teammate Max Verstappen established a strong pace.

Power Unit Issue and the Race Against Time

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed to ORF that the power unit issue is almost fixed. The driver is hoping for a better day today in Melbourne after finishing FP2 in a disappointing 17th on the timesheet, over half a second slower than the reigning champion.

Top of the Grid: A Matter of Hundredths of a Second

Scrutiny surrounds Lawson as it’s going to be incredibly close at the front today, with the top positions likely coming down to mere hundredths of a second. Lando Norris currently holds an almost tenth of a second advantage, while the rest of the grid is separated by just hundredths.

Learning from Max Verstappen and Adapting to Melbourne

Losing out on mileage today puts Lawson at a disadvantage. He’ll have to rely entirely on Max’s setup as he hasn’t been able to test the changes made to the car. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner defended Lawson, acknowledging that being Verstappen’s teammate is one of the toughest jobs in Formula 1 but expressing confidence in his ability to learn and adapt.

The lack of experience in Melbourne and underlying grip issues will be a concern for the Milton Keynes outfit. However, Lawson is finding his feet and giving good feedback, as per Horner. We’ll see how he performs over the next few races.