Liam Lawson clips the wall during first practice session at Australian Grand Prix

Friday, 14 March 2025

Liam Lawson survived a scare in his first official practice session as a Red Bull driver.

The Kiwi clipped the wall on the entry of turn nine within the first 30 minutes of free practice one at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday afternoon.

It was a nervous start for the New Zealander, who was the slowest of the four Red Bull cars across both of the first two practice sessions.

Lawson is making his debut for Red Bull’s top Formula One team in Melbourne this week after earning a promotion from Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.

He is the only driver on the grid who has never driven at Albert Park before. The five full rookies in the field this year have all raced their in lower classes.

“[I’m] comfortable [in the car] – just too slow,” Lawson said afterwards. “We obviously have a lot of work to do overnight.

“Day one, on a new track, we were expecting to have some work to do, but probably not this much. We’ll work on it overnight and then try and improve it for tomorrow.”

The brush with the barrier was a little close for comfort but thankfully for Lawson, he appeared to escape with no major damage.

The 23-year-old reported the mishap on the race radio and returned briefly to the pits for minor repairs before resuming his practice session.

“I touched the wall just on the entry of turn 9, like just brushed it,” Lawson said.

Lawson posted the 16th fastest lap time in the first session, 1.203 seconds off the pace, and the 17th quickest, 1.201 seconds off, in the second.

He was slower than both of the VCARB cars but he fared better than British teenager Ollie Bearman of the Haas team.

The red flag came out in the first session after the 19-year-old spun out and crashed into the barrier, causing significant damage to his front wing and right wheels later in the session.

Bearman walked away unharmed but did not return.

The Australian GP resumes with free practice three and qualifying on Saturday.