Liam Lawson had a disappointing race weekend, placing P14 at the Imola GP, but looks ahead to Monaco.
After a lacklustre P14 for the Kiwi, Liam Lawson has scored no points during this F1 Season, who now stand at P18 in the Drivers Championship, While teammate Isack Hadjar stands at P14, with 7 points.
After qualifying P16 and starting in P15, Lawson struggled to make headway and progression due to an early pit stop and the combination of a safety car and a virtual safety car.
Speaking after the race, he said: “Yeah, the VSC and the safety car, it just didn’t work for us, so it’s disappointing.
“It was obviously trying to make up some ground there, and I think it had good potential, but when the VSC came at it, it sort of ended our race.”
Lawson then continued about the pace of the car, but was excited about the future race weekend. He added: “It has been fast, it has been fast on weekends. So, yeah, I didn’t get to show it yesterday [qualifying], and then obviously today I didn’t really get to show it either [race day], so Monaco is very different, so I just can’t wait to go there.”
Looking ahead to Monaco
Liam Lawson has an unlucky history in Monaco as he took pole in Monte Carlo in F2 in 2022, but was stripped for a yellow flag violation.
Along with in 2021, in Monte Carlo, the Kiwi had a dramatic late disqualification as he won the feature race in F2.
But Lawson is looking ahead and has a positive mindset for the race, as he said: “I mean, it’s an iconic track, and it’s one that I’m sure in an F1 car is going to be very special. So, yeah, it’s very different for all of us.
“We have to drive a very different style of car to make it work there, but I’m very excited. And after a bad weekend, obviously, I just want to go there and get into it again.”
When asked if he felt the VCARB 02 had a good package for the track in Monte Carlo, he said: “I think so, but obviously it’s really hard to tell. And also, I think this year, looking at races last year, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this year is going to be the same.
“But I think we’re heading in a good direction with the car.”
Strategy for Monaco
The Monaco GP is an iconic track renowned for its distinctive corners, which necessitate teams drastically altering their cars to achieve maximum downforce, as well as the challenges of overtaking.
Lawson spoke on this and said that qualifying is what they focus on, as he said: “Obviously, it throws more opportunity for sure, but at the end of the day, it’s about car speed and about being fast.
And qualifying will still be pretty much just as important as always. So that’s what we’ll be obviously focused on.”
The Kiwi continued on further about the tyre strategy after a tricky compound for the Imola GP, he added: “It should be a bit more straightforward than here, I would say. You know, this weekend, obviously, it’s very interesting to see a C5 potentially be quicker in qualy with some teams.
“We’ve obviously not seen that before.
“But I think in Monaco, it’s a track that’s much less demanding on the tyres. You’re going to see much less degradation through a lap than you’re going to see here. I don’t know what the temperature is like yet, but being Monaco, it’s low energy.”
