Liam Lawson: 'Survival Mode' in Failed Miami Chase

Liam Lawson says he was "just trying to survive" the opening laps of the Miami Grand Prix, struggling to manage a car with poor balance before a gearbox failure ended his race in a collision with Pierre Gasly.

Why it matters:

Lawson's blunt assessment underscores Racing Bulls' ongoing pace deficit and reliability issues, leaving the team pointless in Miami and highlighting the need for bigger performance gains to stay competitive in the midfield.

The details:

• Lawson started 11th but was forced to hand back a position to Max Verstappen after the Red Bull driver pushed him off track on the first lap.
• On Lap 6, a gearbox failure struck the Racing Bulls car as Pierre Gasly was overtaking into Turn 17, pitching Lawson into the side of the Alpine driver, who flipped over and landed against the barrier.
• "I was just trying to survive the first lap, and we weren't quick enough," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365.
• "We had quite a bad balance and we were trying to chase it. But it wasn't enough, and we just weren't quick enough this weekend."

What's next:

Lawson acknowledged the team has development parts coming but emphasized others are progressing too. "We need to make bigger steps," he said, pointing to a thorough review before the next race.