Liam Lawson was “told off” by dad for middle-finger salute to Sergio Perez

Liam Lawson has revealed he got a telling off from his father for flipping the bird at F1 rival Sergio Perez at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

RB driver Lawson, then in just his second race since replacing Daniel Ricciardo, damaged Perez’s Red Bull in a clash at Turn 4 during the recent race.

Perez branded Lawson an “idiot” over team radio and later claimed the New Zealander doesn’t have the right attitude for F1.

Lawson was seen giving a middle finger gesture to Perez later in the race, something which did not impress Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, or Lawson’s parents.

“It’s not something I should have done,” Lawson told TFN.

“It’s something I’ll learn from but at the same time we are competing at a high level and when you have that much adrenaline, it’s crazy.

“If I think back over the years to things I’ve thought about or said after a race, especially when I was younger, then you calm down and you realise how crazy that was and how stupid it was.

“It was something I learnt from but obviously when you are in F1 the spotlight is on you and maybe I didn’t realise how much people can see. You’ve got to be careful.”

Asked what his parents made of it, Lawson admitted: “They weren’t impressed.

“[I’m] very fortunate to have someone like my dad who has played a massive role in, obviously, raising me as a man, but also as a driver, growing up and trying to be professional in the sport.

“He’s kept me very grounded, I would say, and that’s been something that he’s done since I was a kid. So, you know, he wasn’t impressed with that and I completely understand why. And obviously, as I said, it’s not something I should have done, and I’ll learn from [it].”

Lawson added: “My dad told me off, as my dad has done many times over the years.”