Away from the TV cameras: A risky duel between Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar marks Racing Bulls’ return to the Formula 1 points standings
Racing Bulls celebrated a strong comeback in the top 10 at the Formula 1 race in Brazil after three weekends without points: Liam Lawson finished seventh and Isack Hadjar eighth—despite the two making contact on the final lap.
Lawson successfully pulled off a risky one-stop strategy, but came under heavy pressure from Hadjar and several midfield drivers in the final laps. This battle was not shown on live TV, as the broadcast focused on the duel between Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen for second place.
This is what happened away from the cameras: At the start of the final lap, Hadjar attempted an overtaking maneuver on the outside of Turn 1. In doing so, he pushed Lawson slightly inward, resulting in brief wheel-to-wheel contact at the apex. Hadjar caught a slight sideways skid and stayed on track, while Lawson finished seventh after a 52-lap stint on medium tires.
How Hadjar and Lawson reacted to the contact
After the race, Hadjar admitted to Sky that he had attacked his teammate a little too hard: “I tried it—and overdid it a bit. My mistake.”
Lawson, who is known for his robust driving style, reacted calmly: “He wanted to overtake. It’s a curve that pulls inwards, and he probably wanted to get past before braking. He just misjudged it. But we both finished, so it was okay. More importantly, the team achieved a strong result with seventh and eighth place.“
”It was the last lap. Of course, it would be ideal not to take any risks, but no one is going to give up voluntarily in a situation like that. I respect that. We were lucky that everything went well, and overall it was a great weekend for the team.“
Team boss Alan Permane explained that Racing Bulls were confident in the final stages of the race ”that they would resolve it cleanly.”
Hadjar annoyed with his strategy
Hadjar was nevertheless dissatisfied with his strategy: “It wasn’t a good day for me. The tactics in the first stint weren’t good, we lost some time. We wanted to make up for that, but our pace wasn’t outstanding. Points are good, of course, and help in the battle for sixth place in the constructors’ championship, but for me personally, it wasn’t a good day.”
The Anglo-Italian team goes into the final three race weekends with 82 points—ten more than Aston Martin in seventh place and twelve ahead of Haas, which has scored points regularly in the past two weeks thanks to the strong performance of Oliver Bearman.
