Liam Lawson was left disappointed after missing out on a points-paying result for Scuderia AlphaTauri in the F1 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The New Zealander, in just his second Formula 1 appearance and his first full weekend at the wheel, finished 11th after 51 laps of racing.
He was the only Scuderia AlphaTauri driver to reach the finish after Yuki Tsunoda suffered an engine failure on the formation lap, triggering an aborted start.
Lawson ran as high as 11th during the middle stages of the race before dropping to 16th following his second stop on Lap 33.
From there, he recovered to sit 12th in the closing stages, losing out to Oscar Piastri with three laps remaining.
However, the Australian was handed a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in his pass on Lawson, while Logan Sargeant was pinged for causing a collision with Valtteri Bottas.
Buy tickets
That left Lawson 11th in the final classification, just under seven seconds away from 10th-placed Bottas and the last of the world championship points.
“More and more comfortable, but just a little bit disappointed with the race,” Lawson said of his second Formula 1 race.
“We maybe had the pace for points, I’m not sure, we have to look into it.
“I had a bad start, and that’s where we really lost the chance.
“A bit disappointed to be so close.”
Lawson was thrust into the action midway through the Dutch Grand Prix a week prior, with the Italian event the first time he’s had the ability to build into the race weekend properly.
“Much, much more prepared, to be honest, but unfortunately not enough to fight for points,” he said of having the full weekend in the car.
“It definitely helps with all the work we did leading up, and I feel much more comfortable with the car.
“Just procedures,” he added when asked what has presented the biggest challenge.
“There’s a lot to do behind the wheel of the car, and it’s obviously better if you don’t have to look down at what you’re doing, and that’s something that takes a little bit of time.”
Though he didn’t score in Monza, Lawson did move above Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo in the drivers’ championship courtesy of his 11th-place finish.
The 22-year-old looks set to remain in the car for two more races with Christian Horner suggesting Ricciardo would be out of action with a broken hand until October.
Discussion about this post