Liam Lawson “got to get a handle on it” after nightmare qualifying in F1 Chinese GP
The Kiwi provides an honest assessment of his performance after qualifying dead last on Saturday
Red Bull driver Liam Lawson says his performance is simply “not good enough” and he needs to “get a handle on it”, after qualifying last on the grid for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix.
After a tough season opener in Australia last weekend, Lawson’s struggles with the RB21 continued in Shanghai, as he ended up 1.2s off the pace in Q1 on Saturday.
His results were in stark contrast to those of Racing Bulls duo Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda, who finished second and third in the opening leg of qualifying. Lawson’s own teammate Max Verstappen safely made it through Q2 with a single set of soft tyres.
The Kiwi explained that he is struggling to get the car and the Pirelli tyres in the right window, but admitted that he only has himself to blame for another lacklustre showing at the start of the season.
“I think it’s really tough, honestly,” he told Sky after his Q1 exit. “The window is really small, that's known, but honestly it's not an excuse. I've got to get a handle on it.
“It was a messy session and had we not dealt with traffic and stuff like that, it might have been okay.
“But to be honest it's still not good enough. To be having those issues and that's the reason we get knocked out…..[but] we should be fast enough on our fast lap, it shouldn't be an issue.
“I just need to get on top of it.”
Lawson insisted that his lack of pace isn’t down to lacking confidence in the car, which has been built around four-time F1 champion Verstappen.
The 23-year-old said he needs to accumulate more mileage to get to grips with the RB21 but is aware there is a lot of pressure on him to turn around his performances quickly.
“I think it's just time, unfortunately I don't really have time,” he conceded.
“But it's just those things. To drive a Formula 1 car, it takes 100 percent confidence in what you are doing.
“It's not that I don't feel confident, but the window is so small I just seem to miss it. It's that I need to get a handle on. so I don't know how to put it really, it's just not good enough”
