The New Zealander secured a place in Q3 at Albert Park as Racing Bulls placed both cars inside the top 10 in the first qualifying session of Formula 1’s new era, with rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad qualifying ninth.
Lawson said the result slightly exceeded expectations after a difficult pre-season outing in Bahrain, where the team struggled to show its true pace.
“I think it’s what we were definitely shooting for. But we probably weren’t expecting this,” he said.
“I think especially after Bahrain, I think it definitely wasn’t a track that suited us, but yeah, a lot of teams brought their upgrades there and we obviously brought some this weekend and it’s great.”
“When on paper it looks great, but obviously until you put it on the car, you don’t know.
“So, it’s a great feeling to know that it’s worked well this weekend and to have two cars in Q3 is very good.”
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Racing Bulls’ performance also marked a strong early showing for the Red Bull Ford power unit, with Lawson praising the reliability and work done behind the scenes during pre-season.
“Yeah, I mean, honestly so far, the efforts from Ford and Power Trains have been very very strong,” he said.
“To have an engine that’s working pretty well, obviously we find out tomorrow how reliable all the cars are.
“But we’ve honestly had a yeah, a strong pre-season with reliability so far and our long run pace has been okay as well.”
Despite the encouraging qualifying result, Lawson acknowledged that the new generation of F1 machinery continues to pose challenges for drivers.
“It’s a very fun track. Obviously very new cars this year, so a lot to get used to. A lot to figure out in tomorrow as well,” he said.
“It’s going to be, yeah, I mean, a lot of new systems that we all have to try and adapt to.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Lawson said maintaining reliability would be key as teams continue learning the limits of the new cars.
“I mean the goal is to try and stay where we are, but truthfully it’s really hard to know exactly where we sit compared to everybody else,” he said.
“We’ve had very good long run pace. But I think the biggest thing is going to be having a reliable car.”
Racing Bulls technical officer Tim Goss described qualifying as “an excellent day” for the team, highlighting the achievement of placing both drivers into the top-10 shootout.
“Two cars into Q3 and Qualifying positions of P8 and P9 prove that we have two quick drivers and an impressive car in the shape of the VCARB 03,” he said.
Goss added that preparation work and aerodynamic updates introduced in Melbourne helped the team unlock more performance from its package.
“We came to Melbourne with a good understanding of the sweet spot for our car’s set-up, and with some additional aerodynamic upgrades, the car’s pace and balance took another step forwards.”
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