Liam Lawson 14th at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as Max Verstappen wins
Monday, 19 May 2025
Liam Lawson finished 14th in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix won by Max Verstappen.
The Kiwi driver was dealt a poor hand in qualifying and by safety car interruptions in the Grand Prix.
Lawson’s team-mate Isack Hadjar finished ninth and Yuki Tsunoda recovered for 10th after a huge crash in qualifying.
As Liam Lawson crossed the finish line following a luckless and lacklustre 14th in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, his engineer, Ernesto Desideri, offered up a despondent message of hope.
“It can’t rain forever,” Desideri said.
Lawson started 15th on the grid after his qualifying session was compromised by Yuki Tsunoda’s nasty crash in the RB21 that used to belong to the Kiwi and his luck did not turn for the better in Monday morning’s (NZT) race won by his former Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen.
Lawson was amongst a handful of drivers heavily affected by the virtual safety car on lap 29 when Esteban Ocon retired with a power unit issue - with the Racing Bulls driver having already stopped while most of the field saved time by pitting under the VSC.
'The VSC and the safety car just didn't work for us,' Lawson told media post race.
'It's disappointing. I was trying to make up some ground, and I had good potential, but when the VSC came out, it ended our race.”
After a lengthy late safety car on lap 46 of 63 that followed the exit of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antolleli, Lawson was running as high as 13th.
But he lost out to Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso on the second lap after the restart.
Alonso also passed Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg, while Lawson was able to keep the other Aston Martin driver, Lance Stroll, behind him.
After holding his place at the start, Lawson only managed to make his medium tyres last 12 laps.
He was passed by Gasly, who pitted a lap earlier, at the first corner after emerging from pit lane.
Lawson passed Ocon shortly before the Sauber driver retired from the race.
The 23-year-old Kiwi spent most of the race immediately behind Gasly, who fell back after going off while battling for ninth with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc on lap three.
It was Lawson’s third-best finish this Formula 1 season, behind the 12th place he managed for Red Bull in China and the 12th place he managed for Racing Bulls in Saudi Arabia.
He remains one of four drivers on the grid without a championship point to their name.
Alonso only finished 11th despite his late surge so also remained pointless, as did Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who came 18th.
Franco Colapinto came 16th in his first race for Alpine after replacing Jack Doohan, who didn’t score any points in the first seven races of the season.
Lawson’s team-mate Isack Hadjar finished ninth and scored points for the third time this season.
Oscar Piastri was passed by his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris after the late safety car, which was out for 10 laps, and they finished third and second respectively.
Piastri still leads the world drivers’ championship with 146 points. Norris has 133 in second, followed by Verstappen in third with 124.
The next Grand Prix is the Monaco Grand Prix, which takes place next weekend.
Top 10 finishes: Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Alexander Albon, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda.