Lawson: RB can’t afford to start like Vegas

While the Italian team nabbed two points for ninth courtesy of Yuki Tsunoda, it came after a protracted process.

That included some engineering gambles that split Tsunoda and Lawson, a practice which gained useful data while all but guaranteeing one of the two cars was sub-optimal.

With the Sprint format in use this weekend, there is simply no such time for RB to employ a similar approach in Losail, with only an hour of free practice before the competitive sessions begin.

“What we can’t afford is like we started so far away in Vegas,” Lawson explained.

“We don’t have three practice sessions to bring the car back, we have to go straight in the sprint quali.

“So, yeah, we need to start strong.”

The points on offer for a well-executed weekend could be especially valuable as RB finds itself in a tight battle for sixth in the constructors’ championship.

Just five points separate Haas from Alpine and RB in the teams’ competition with two races remaining.

With prize money paid out against a team’s position in the previous year’s constructors’ championship, it could have a significant financial impact.

“For our team, it’s massive for next year,” Lawson said of the extra prize money on offer for finishing fifth over seventh.

“I think it’s very clear; everybody knows what’s at stake.

“We’re all going into the week and you can feel that everybody’s thinking about the same thing, or thinking about the constructors.

“For me, obviously, it will be great, also knowing that they trusted me with this position late in the season, it would be nice to repay the team with that constructors’.”

Last year’s Qatar Grand Prix was the final leg of Lawson’s five-race cameo for the injured Daniel Ricciardo.

It was an oppressively hot race, conditions markedly different to that seen expected for 2024 that expected to see temperatures climb no higher than the mid-20s.

.The change in conditions, Lawson hopes, will play in RB’s favour in an event that netted a 15th and an 17th for them last year.

“The temperature this year is a lot better,” he said.

“And the track itself is quite cool. It’s very fast. I think I enjoyed the layout last year.

“So, I’m excited. Obviously, Sprint weekend, so there’s a few challenges that come with that. But yeah, I’m excited.”

Track action in Qatar begins on Friday with opening practice at 16:30 local time (00:30 AEDT Saturday).