Liam Lawson Reveals Racing Bulls Fire Scare After Austrian GP Double Points Finish

• Racing Bulls secured a third consecutive double points finish in Austria, with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad finishing ninth and tenth to close the gap to Alpine in the constructors’ championship.
• Lawson overcame a suspected brake fire in the opening laps to become the first New Zealand driver since Denny Hulme in 1973 to score points in four consecutive Formula 1 race weekends.
• Lindblad recorded his third straight points finish but believes there is still significant room for improvement despite another strong weekend for Racing Bulls.

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Racing Bulls enjoyed another strong weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, with both Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad scoring points for a third consecutive race. However, the result did not come without concern after a suspected brake fire on Lawson’s car in the opening laps.

Finishing ninth and tenth respectively, the Faenza outfit closed the gap to midfield rivals Alpine in the constructors’ championship after Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto both failed to score at Spielberg.

Lawson’s ninth-place finish also saw the 24-year-old become the first New Zealand driver since the late Denny Hulme in 1973 to score points in four consecutive Formula 1 race weekends.

The result further strengthened Lawson’s position inside the top 10 of the drivers’ championship, with the Kiwi having failed to score at just two of the opening eight grands prix. For Lindblad, meanwhile, it marked a third consecutive points finish.

“I think they were on fire because I had smoke and couldn’t really breathe for a good few laps,” Lawson said after the race, referring to the smoke he reported over team radio during the opening laps.

“Yeah, not ideal. But they settled down. Just the first lap, cars heavy. Obviously in traffic. But after that everything was okay.”

Lawson initially dropped behind both Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and teammate Lindblad while managing the suspected brake fire, despite overtaking Hadjar at the start. However, he regained the position over Lindblad during the first round of pit stops after Racing Bulls boxed the Briton a lap later.

“After the first stint we knew that we had good speed compared to the other guys in the midfield,” Lawson said.

“So, I think we knew we were on for a decent race. And to be honest I think our pace got better through the race as well compared to others.

“So pretty happy. At the moment we’re in a good groove and I’m very happy. Just trying to keep the momentum rolling.”

Lindblad, meanwhile, admitted there was still more performance for him to unlock despite recording another top-10 finish.

“Yeah it was good. I got stuck in, I gave it a good go,” the Briton said.

“I got ahead of Liam at the start of the second stint and was ahead of him the whole of the second stint. Then the team boxed him a lap earlier than me, so he came out ahead because of the newer tires. Which I kind of saw coming to be honest.

“I think there’s a few things to work on. I wasn’t super happy with my driving, with the overall pace,” he added.

“I think there’s things I can manage better. There’s still quite a few things to learn. But I think regardless it’s been a positive weekend.

“The team, again, have given us a really strong package. Like you said, double points. So looking forward to Silverstone now.”

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Written by

Jawad Yaqub

An eCommerce Specialist by day and reporting on F1 by night. Jawad is passionate about motorsport, having provided accredited F1 coverage for more than a decade and is a member of the AIPS (International Sports Press Association). Live blogging (almost) every grand prix too since 2014, as well as articles on the Supercars Championship. Also keen on sustainability, photography, collecting vinyl, (trying to) expertly barbeque and learning to Dad.

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