The New Zealander started the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend strongly, finishing seventh in opening practice with a 1m17.472s after completing 24 laps.
However, his second session was interrupted when he stopped just outside the pit exit early in FP2, bringing out a virtual safety car and limiting him to just eight laps.
Lawson was eventually able to return late in the hour after Racing Bulls resolved the issue, setting a 1m16.967s to finish 13th in the session.
While the stoppage came at a frustrating point in the day, Lawson said the problem was not a major concern heading into the rest of the weekend.
“We had a small issue today that’s relatively easy to fix, but unfortunately it meant that we couldn’t take part in the main part of the session,” Lawson said.
“While it’s frustrating, it’s much better for it to happen today opposed to tomorrow.
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“The positive is that we’ve had a strong car from the start of both practice sessions, and overall we’re in a really good place heading into the rest of the weekend.
“We’ll take the learnings from today, make the necessary adjustments and hopefully have a smooth day tomorrow.
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“This is also the first time we’ve been able to properly test our upgrades from Canada on a high-speed circuit, so it’s really encouraging to see them performing well.”
Team principal Alan Permane said Racing Bulls was pleased with the early signs from its updated package.
“We’re pretty happy with how today has gone,” Permane said.
“The car had a big update in Montreal and we haven’t driven any high-speed corners since then.
“This track was therefore going to be a big test for what we brought back then, but also for the rest of the season.
“A small electrical issue with Liam’s car meant that he missed part of the session, but it’s nothing major and he was able to get back out on track for a shakedown ahead of FP3.
“Arvid also did a great job today and we’ll be pushing for both cars to make it to Q3 in Qualifying tomorrow.”
Racing Bulls’ pace was also underlined by Arvid Lindblad, who finished ninth in FP1 and improved to seventh in FP2.
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