Liam Lawson Reveals Why He's Enjoying Racing Bulls' Car After Austin

Liam Lawson faces the final stretch of the season with a smile. The New Zealand Racing Bulls driver achieved a solid ninth place at the United States Grand Prix, scoring valuable points for the team and confirming the good moment that the Italian team is going through, a result that leaves him wanting more and with the confidence that the car is in the right place for the next events on the calendar.

"When everyone finishes, for us it's a P9 or a P10; that's the best we can do. Honestly, we executed really well today; we had a great race, so we couldn't have done more. Overall, it has been a strong weekend," Lawson declared after the race. The New Zealander, who started ninth on the grid, the best of the rest behind the Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren drivers, knew how to manage the race intelligently and maintain his position until the checkered flag.

Lawson did not hide his personal satisfaction with his performance and with the car's behavior: "I feel good; I felt good all weekend. I am enjoying driving this car; honestly, it is in a great place right now, so I am excited to go to some more unique tracks now. Obviously, with Mexico, very high altitude, and Brazil, probably will be quite bumpy, I imagine, but yes, we are in a good place," he added.

The result in Austin reinforces Racing Bulls' fifth-place finish in the constructors' championship, a priority the team set for this season. Lawson and his teammate Arvid Lindblad have proven to be a competitive, consistent duo, and their performance is key to keeping direct rivals like Alpine and Haas at bay.

Lindblad, for his part, faced a more complicated race in Austin after the Briton received a five-place grid penalty for using additional power unit elements, forcing him to start fourteenth. Despite this he managed to come back to twelfth position although he showed himself dissatisfied with the development of the race: "It was acceptable, lap 1 was not as good as I expected, obviously I went for the inside but we all piled up on each other so I couldn't gain ground there and then it was a bit difficult, the first stint and then the next two I think were fine but obviously I entered the mediums quite early. I felt good for a few laps; I was catching Franco, and then I was basically in Pierre's undercut window, so he held me up. I lost about two seconds in half a lap with him, then I tried to pass Pierre and probably pushed too much, but well, that's what there is...I'm not sure how to reflect on the race. During the middle of it, I didn't really know where I was or what was happening. I think I was the only one who tried to do two stops; I don't think it worked. As I told you before, that's what there is, and I think there were positive aspects, so we will learn from it," Lindblad explained.

Despite the frustration, the Briton highlighted that he felt more comfortable behind the wheel than in previous sessions: "I didn't feel very comfortable in most of the practice sessions, but then I felt good in qualifying. Honestly, I also felt quite good in the race, probably one of the best sensations I have had in a race so far this year," he concluded.

Racing Bulls faces the American triple-header with high morale and confidence, continuing to score points in its fight to consolidate its position in the midfield.