Kiwi Liam Lawson has continued to show his readiness for a fulltime Formula One drive with Red Bull, emerging from the back of the grid to grab championship points at the United States Grand Prix in Texas.
Charles Leclerc catapulted from fourth to first on the opening turn and kept his advantage to the end, with Max Verstappen padding his championship advantage, as a late penalty allowed him past nearest rival Lando Norris for third. Spaniard Carlos Sainz finished second for a Ferrari one-two.
Back in the pack, Lawson improved from 19th to ninth, matching his best F1 finish in his first start as Australian Daniel Ricciardo's replacement in the Red Bull development team.
The rookie stepped into the Honda for five races last year, after Ricciardo broke his hand, but has had to bide his time in pitlane waiting for a more permanent chance to show his ability. During that stint, he finished ninth at Singapore, grabbing two championship points in the process.
At Circuit of the Americas, Lawson, 22, hinted at his potential when he finished third fastest in the first stage of qualifying, but already faced with a back-of-the-grid penalty, he chose to preserve his car by not contesting Q2.
At the start of the race, he quickly made his way into the top 10, passing rival Fernando Alonso in the process. He advanced as high as seventh, before pitting and losing a handful of spots, then making his way back into the top 10.
"Holy s***, how did we do that," Lawson told his team. "Good job, thank you everybody.
"It was just a really compete car, so thank you very much for the hard work and for preparing me for this. I appreciate it."
His relationship with two-time champion Alonso is already spicy, after they tangled briefly in the sprint race and the Spaniard visited the Red Bull garage afterwards to voice his displeasure. Alonso, 43, then shadowed the Kiwi closely during qualifying and would not have enjoyed watching him sail past in the main event.
"Today was really, really good," reflected Lawson. "I knew we were going to have speed today, I hoped we'd have speed, but obviously the race is very different.
"The first stint on hards [tyres], we were able to keep extending. We were getting more and more comfortable, and I was adjusting as well.
"It's always nice to be the overtaking car, rather than being overtaken and defending. To be able to overtake cars like that, I think we've struggled to do that as a team recently, so very happy with that."
After a year without racing, Lawson admits he felt rusty at the start of the weekend.
"It was hard," he said. "Friday was a battle, with only one practice session before qualy. It's never a nice feeling not feeling completely comfortable throwing the car into a corner like you want to.
"I wanted to get to the end of the weekend feeling comfortable and I think we were able to do that."
Lawson has six races to convince Red Bull bosses he is worthy of a seat in their top team, alongside Verstappen, next year. His main rivals for that seat, Mexican Sergio Perez and Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda, finished seventh and 14th respectively at Austin.
"He jumped in and looked like a veteran to be honest," said Red Bull chief executive Christian Horner. "He's a great racer and can be very happy with that drive today.
"He drove a great Grand Prix, starting 19th and finishing in the points, with some great overtakes. He should be pleased with that.
"When you're upsetting Fernando, you know you're doing something right. He's a tough hard racer."
His next opportunity comes next weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
SHARE ME