Liam Lawson hits back at Zak Brown: ‘I couldn’t care less what he says’

Liam Lawson has hit back at Zak Brown after the McLaren boss suggested that Yuki Tsunoda should have been in the Red Bull following his impressive qualifying display at the Australian Grand Prix.

Lawson endured a torrid opening weekend as a Red Bull driver.

Reliability issues put him on the back foot in qualifying, where he was eliminated in Q1.

A pit lane start to change his car’s setup for the wet conditions didn’t pay off, as he struggled for pace and ultimately became one of the six drivers to DNF.

On the other hand, Tsunoda impressed for Racing Bulls, qualifying fifth ahead of Alex Albon.

His starring qualifying performance caught the attention of Brown, who praised Tsunoda in an interview with Sky Sports.

Brown also had a dig at Red Bull for their “strange driver decisions”.

“Yuki did a great job. [He is] probably the guy who should be in the Red Bull if you look at how he’s performed, but they seem to make some strange driver choices from time to time.”

Speaking to media in Shanghai ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, Lawson was asked about Brown’s comments.

“I couldn’t care less what Zak says, to be honest with you,” Lawson said as quoted by RacingNews365.

“I don’t think I’ve spoken to him, ever and I haven’t read any social media over the last two weeks.”

Lawson needs time - Albon

Albon stressed the importance of giving Lawson time to get up to speed at Red Bull.

Albon had one and a half seasons at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen in 2019 and 2020.

After a promising start, Albon struggled considerably, failing to out-qualify Verstappen at any of the 17 races in 2020.

He was ultimately dropped for 2021, sitting the season on the sidelines.

When asked about Lawson’s first race with the team, Albon said: “I think it’s very early to say how he’s going to do. I think for everyone out there, the conditions and the general formats of qualifying now, I think firstly, let’s start with qualifying.

“I think qualifying is now closer than ever, which is great for everyone, but it does mean that if you’re a little bit off, you’re going to likely be out in Q1

“But then, at the same time, there’s nothing really to say about race conditions. I think everyone was struggling out there. Especially the rookies and the ones with a little bit less experience were on the back foot for most of Sunday. I think you’ve got to give them a bit of time to get up to speed.”