Lawson Laments Monza Misfortune After Tsunoda Clash and Pointless Race

Liam Lawson expressed significant frustration after a challenging Italian Grand Prix weekend, where an alternate strategy failed to pay off and an on-track incident with Yuki Tsunoda further complicated his race.

Why it matters:

This marks the second consecutive race without points for the Racing Bulls driver, despite showing promising pace, raising questions about his race execution under pressure.

The big picture:

Starting from the back of the grid, Lawson's team opted for an aggressive alternate strategy with an early pit stop. However, this gamble did not yield the desired results.

• "It was a tough race starting from the back," Lawson commented. "We tried something different with the strategy and took a gamble, but unfortunately, it didn’t pay off."
• He added, "We were close, but a few cars came out ahead of us on fresh tyres, and we got stuck behind them, which was really frustrating. Had we cleared that pack, it could’ve been a much easier race. The car has been quick, so it’s disappointing to come away with no points."

The details:

Lawson's race was further complicated by a mid-race incident with Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda, who was visibly upset about the contact.

• Tsunoda stated, "I got distracted by Lawson, who made [contact with me] and that was quite big. I picked up damage and that was big enough to slow me down quite a lot, so very frustrating and very unnecessary for me."
• This incident follows another clash for Lawson with Carlos Sainz during the recent Dutch Grand Prix.
• Lawson finished 14th, while his teammate Isack Hadjar managed to score a point for Racing Bulls despite also starting from the back.

What's next:

Lawson acknowledged his performance: "On my side, we didn’t quite maximise the weekend. That said, it’s not as bad as it looks, and we’ll look to turn things around in Baku."