The Racing Bulls driver made it back-to-back top-10 results despite starting outside the points, using strategy and race craft to climb through the field at Suzuka.
Lawson admitted the timing of the Safety Car, brought out by a heavy crash from the Haas of Oliver Bearman, proved decisive after working against him in China, allowing him to extend his opening stint before making a well-timed stop that ultimately lifted him into contention.
“It helped us today,” Lawson told Speedcafe and other media when asked about the Safety Car.
“It wasn’t ideal in China and then here it’s definitely helped us.
“So, yeah, to come away with points is very, very positive.”
After a difficult qualifying session left him down the order, Lawson revealed the team was still trying to understand a lack of performance linked to setup changes made late in the session.
“We definitely struggled at the start,” he added.
“I think we have to look over how we ended qualifying with the wing we put on the car, it was not where we expected it to be.
“So was definitely quite confusing there.
“And today starting the race as well, it was also quite difficult to drive.
So we’ll look over everything. And learn from it going forward.”
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From 14th on the grid, Lawson made immediate progress on the opening lap and settled into the midfield train, where overtaking proved notoriously difficult throughout the race.
That challenge was compounded by the nature of the regulations energy deployment, with Lawson describing a race where passing attempts were often short-lived.
“I think if you ask Esteban [Ocon] who was behind me, he was quite a lot quicker and he couldn’t overtake,” he said.
“So, for me, it was very difficult today. I was in the train at the start where I had difficulties with the car.
“Even watching Max [Verstappen] and the guys in front. It was very hard to overtake.
“This race was definitely the hardest. So for me, it feels more difficult right now.
“It doesn’t really matter what you do. You’re forced to use energy to make a pass and there’s always, here at least, pretty much a straight afterwards that you get repassed by.”
Lawson spent much of the closing stages of the race under pressure from Ocon but held firm, managing his energy deployment to ensure he could respond to any serious challenge.
“I knew that if Esteban used energy to pass me, I would be able to pass him back again,” he said.
“And I think he knew that. So we just stayed sustainable the whole time. And it kept me in front.”
The ninth-place finish follows Lawson’s seventh in China and lifts him to 10th in the drivers’ standings after three rounds.
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