Kiwi Formula One driver Liam Lawson has made an impressive start to the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, clocking two top 10 finishes between the two practice sessions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The 23-year-old Racing Bulls driver, who scored a career-best finish last weekend in Monaco, was sixth fastest in Free Practice 1, and 10th fastest in Free Practice 2, showing an encouraging pace across the day.
Lawson called the result "a good start to the weekend".
"It's a good base to build on," he said after practice. "But obviously, tomorrow is what counts."
"We’ll keep working on improving the car. Everybody is chasing it, everybody’s car was probably a little bit further away at the start of FP1, because of the new front wing.
“For everybody, for every team, it’s different. For us, our car is in a good place right now.
“But we expect everybody to keep improving.”
The Spanish Grand Prix weekend marks the debut of a new technical directive regarding front wing flexibility, with most teams using FP1 largely as a data-gathering mission.
The Kiwi driver ran all three tyre compounds during the sessions but didn't set a lap time in his initial run due to the car being fitted with an aero rake — a tool used to analyse airflow during regulation changes.
During the final 20 minutes of FP1, Lawson posted a 1.14.339 on a fresh set of soft tires to go sixth fastest, just 0.045s behind championship leader Oscar Piastri. Lawson finished ahead of teammate Isack Hadjar, who ended the session in P8.
In FP2, Lawson again looked comfortable and clocked a fasted lap time of 1.13.494, finishing P10 ahead of Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari.
McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri topped both sessions, respectively, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen for Red Bull also remaining near the front.
Lawson will be looking to continue his strong form in Qualifying on Sunday morning (2am NZT), where 24 of the last 34 races in Barcelona have been won from pole position.
The race will take place Monday morning at 1am (NZT).
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