Kiwi driver Liam Lawson has apologised for making contact with Valtteri Bottas, forcing both off the track, during an action-packed Qatar Grand Prix.
Lawson, 22, finished 14th and out of championship points at the Lusail International Circuit, heading only Thai-Brit Alex Albon to the finish, after five others dropped out of an incident-riddled affair.
He qualified 17th on the grid and found himself at the back of the field after colliding with Bottas soon after a fourth-lap restart and spinning off the track. The Finn recovered quickly to regain his place in the pack to finish 11th, while the Kiwi survived to pick off places over the 53 remaining laps.
"My race was really bad," said Bottas. "The turning point was the incident with Liam, when I lost those positions and I was on support strategy.
"Everything went wrong after, even the timing of the safety car... everything was disaster. Finishing 11th, it's very disappointing not to be in points."
Slapped with a 10-second penalty for causing the accident, Lawson was philosophical about the encounter.
"In these conditions, we tried everything we can to warm up," he reflected. "I thought I had more grip than I did.
"I went into turn one trying to make the move, and got halfway around the corner and realised I didn't have the grip. I think I spun because I was trying not to hit Valterri and obviously I did.
"I'm sorry for that, it wasn't my intention."
As he attempts to secure a fulltime seat for the Red Bull team in 2025, Lawson can take some small comfort from the misfortune befalling Mexican incumbent Sergio Perez, who was one of those to drop out with clutch problems, while Racing Bulls teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished just one place ahead in 13th.
Qatar hasn't proved a happy hunting ground for Lawson in his young F1 career. In his final outing as a replacement driver last year, he was the last across the finishline in 17th.
"To be honest, after the spin, we weren't so bad," he said. "We caught the pack again and the pace wasn't so bad, but we were completely out of position.
"Overall, we're not quick enough to be fighting with the guys we need to be fighting with. That's tough and we lost a lot of points.
"It's track that's been tough for us, also last year. We made big steps this year, but there's more to be taken."
The championship makes its last stop of the year at Abu Dhabi next weekend — Lawson's last chance to impress Red Bull bosses.
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