Kiwi Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson says new upgrades to his Racing Bulls car will be no guarantee of an immediate turnaround, as he looks to bounce back at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lawson will receive the same upgrade VCARB 03 package used by his teammate Arvid Lindblad in Belgium, after Racing Bulls elected to fit the new parts to the driver who qualified higher at Silverstone.
Lindblad qualified one place ahead of Lawson, earning him the upgrades first.
The Kiwi endured a frustrating weekend around Spa-Francorchamps without the upgrades, finishing in 12th after starting from ninth — ending his five-race points-scoring streak.
Speaking ahead of Monday's race at the Hungaroring, the 24-year-old warned the new upgrade package would likely not fix all of his issues.
"It’s good to have the full package this weekend, but it doesn’t solve all the answers," Lawson said.
"It definitely wasn't the full the full gap that we were missing last weekend. I can't just sit here and be like, 'Oh, it's just going to be perfect now'.
"But we've obviously looked over a lot of things, and I'll try and do a better job this weekend and hopefully it's strong enough."
Lawson had suggested after Belgium's race that his car was lacking straight-line speed compared with several of his rivals.
The Hungarian Grand Prix will mark the halfway point of what has been Lawson’s strongest full Formula 1 campaign to date.
Despite the disappointment in Belgium, Lawson remained 10th in the World Drivers' Championship on 39 points — already surpassing his total from all of last season.
Racing Bulls were also locked in a tight battle with Alpine for fifth in the constructors’ standings, with both teams level on 61 points heading into Hungary.
Lawson said the team’s recent form had given him confidence heading into the second half of the season.
“The last five or six races have been very strong,” he said. "We’ve had a lot of double points finishes and we’ve been closing the gap to Alpine.
"It’d be amazing if we could jump them this weekend and go into the second half of the year in a good position."
Lawson finished eighth during last year's race in Hungary, won by McLaren's Lando Norris, and will look to return to his strong run of form for Monday's race.
Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix will take place on Sunday (2am NZT), before the main race on Monday (1am NZT).
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Ryan Fox arrives back in NZ, and the political heckle that’s going viral. (Source: 1News)
SHARE ME