Formula 1: Liam Lawson praised by team after career-best finish in Austrian Grand Prix

After plenty of setbacks and struggles in his debut fulltime Formula One season, hard work has finally paid off for Liam Lawson, claiming a career-best sixth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Lawson was the only Red Bull-associated driver to claim points, with Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar finishing 12th, the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda 16th and reigning world champ Max Verstappen failing to finish the race after being taken out in the opening stages.

Luck was also on Lawson’s side for a change as he was nearly caught up in the opening-lap carnage when Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli crashed into Verstappen.

The Kiwi’s team also ran a one-stop strategy, with the other teams doing two stops.

That saw the 23-year-old having to defend from Fernando Alonso for a large chunk of the race and, as Lawson crossed the line, messages came in over the team radio calling it a “masterclass race”.

“One of only two cars on the one stop and you made it work,” the team messages said.

“You deserve it, Liam.”

Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies said Lawson’s result shows he’s found his feet, after being dropped by Red Bull to the junior team after two races this season.

“It’s never easy to start in a new team midseason, and he needed time to get used to our car,” Mekies said.

“He demonstrated again his speed on this short yet challenging circuit, where a fraction of a second can significantly make the difference on the standings. The race was an incredible fight on a burning hot track.

“It did not look very bright after the first lap when both our cars were involved in incidents and lost many positions. The pace and the race execution were brilliant, Liam was unstoppable and defended for 70 laps to Fernando [Alonso].”

Lawson’s previous best finish in Formula One was his eighth place in Monaco three races ago.

For finishing sixth, Lawson claimed eight championship points and he now sits 15th on the drivers standings with 12 points.

That sees him still nine points behind Racing Bulls teammate Hadjar, but two clear of Tsunoda, who replaced Lawson at Red Bull after two races.

In the constructors championship, Racing Bulls now jump to sixth on 22 points.

After starting sixth, Lawson thought his hopes of a points finish were over after narrowly missing the Antonelli-Verstappen crash.

But he was quick to credit the team’s strategy for getting him home.

“It was a great weekend, and it feels good to execute everything well,” Lawson said.

“After the first lap, I thought it might be over, but the team made a brave call with the one-stop strategy, it worked out perfectly.

“The car was really fast all weekend, we’re constantly pushing and making small adjustments to make it more comfortable.

“The goal now is to carry this momentum through the rest of the season. We need to take the positives, keep fighting, and keep scoring points.”

The Formula One season continues next weekend with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.