Kiwi F1 driver Liam Lawson is hoping to “keep that momentum going” as the sport returns from a five-week break with the Miami Grand Prix this weekend.
It’s been nearly five weeks since cars raced around a Formula 1 track, with the war in Iran cancelling the Middle Eastern Grands Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Monday marks the fifth running of the Miami Grand Prix in Florida.
Asked if he was feeling confident heading into the next race, the Racing Bulls driver said he would “try and do the best job I can”.
“Formula 1 is very much a sport of variables. There’s a lot that has to happen to have a successful weekend and a successful year, and I think this year has been working out quite well for us.
“It’s been a good start, a lot of opportunity with these new cars, trying to be on top of it, so we’ll try and keep that momentum going.”
Lawson was having a strong season before the unplanned break, scoring points in both the race and the sprint in China and at the Japanese Grand Prix. He sits 10th in the driver’s championship standings with 10 points, six ahead of rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad.
The race in Miami will be a chance for drivers, teams, and fans to see how the grid has used their time off to improve and adjust.
Lawson said about the break: “It was probably quite useful for a lot of the teams, for us to look over the first few races, to prepare for, obviously, this."
Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane said last week the team had a "pretty decent" upgrade planned for Bahrain, which would now be used in Miami. The team will also bring a special yellow livery to Monday's race.
Asked about how he felt about upgrades made to the car over the break, Lawson said: “It’s really hard to know at this point.
“They’re definitely positive, but I think a lot of teams are going to be bringing stuff here.
“So to know exactly how it’s going to be is very tough.”
Lawson said it had been a “tricky start to the year”, with new regulations bringing in entirely new cars.
“This part of the year is really about development, so everything we’re bringing, we’re trying to bring better stuff than everybody else, and we’ll see how we go.”
The new regulations have sparked criticism from both drivers and fans. It mainly centres on the car’s 50/50 power split between the battery and the engine. Fans and drivers are split on whether the regulations have turned the sport into a battle over who can manage their battery best, rather than pure racecraft. Former champion Max Verstappen described the regulations as “anti-racing”.
The new cars had caused differences in speed, with drivers warning that it could result in big crashes. That happened in Japan, when Haas driver Oliver Bearman flew into a barrier at 306km/h while trying to avoid Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
Over the break, F1’s governing body, the FIA, refined some of the rules, which included reducing the amount of electrical energy that could be harvested on a qualifying lap and increasing the rate at which energy could be recovered on straights.
“We are quite certain these changes will be a step in the right direction, and a reasonably significant one,” the FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis, told reporters.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a man’s arrested after the abduction and death of a young girl in Australia, and new road safety warnings amid a spike in deaths. (Source: 1News)
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