“That sucked”: Liam Lawson reflects on ‘very, very tough’ race in Las Vegas
Liam Lawson described the 2024 Las Vegas GP as a challenging race outside the top 10. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, the VCARB driver admitted that tire graining and traffic hindered his chances of scoring points.
Starting 15th on the grid, Lawson endured a tough 55 laps on the street circuit, ultimately finishing 16th. He highlighted that traffic compounded his struggles with tire management, making the race particularly tricky.
In contrast, teammate Yuki Tsunoda managed to finish in the points, outperforming Lawson throughout the weekend. Without prior experience at the Las Vegas circuit, Lawson acknowledged it wasn’t the race he had hoped for.
Asked by Sportskeeda to describe his tricky race in Las Vegas, Liam Lawson said:
“Yeah, that sucked. It was very, very tough. We started okay, and first it was okay, and then I think the second stint there, just in and around traffic. And yeah, obviously, I think everyone's struggling with graining. We definitely struggled with it, and there was a period there where I think we realized we weren't really fighting for points. We tried to extend and potentially one -stop, but yeah, extending in the end. We just lost a lot of time and that's why we boxed again. So it was tricky.”
Liam Lawson reckons he suffered with braking and grip issues in Las Vegas
Liam Lawson believes braking and grip issues significantly hampered his performance during both qualifying and the race at the Las Vegas GP. Reflecting on the weekend, the VCARB driver admitted that these challenges cost the team valuable performance and made it difficult to maximize their potential. He hoped that the team could address these issues ahead of the final two races, aiming for a stronger showing to close out the season.
Asked if he suffered damage to his car after making contact with Kevin Magnussen earlier in the race, Liam Lawson said:
“I don't really know, to be honest. It was too early in the race to really feel anything. The car's obviously heavier when we're driving around, so obviously we'll look into it. But we definitely had our own sort of share of issues this weekend through quali and the race sort of similar issues today as yesterday. That's really costing us quite a lot, so we'll look into it and hopefully resolve it for next week.”
Asked to elaborate on the issues, he added:
“Mainly just braking and sort of overall grip and braking. We have a lot of locking, rear and yeah just struggling to really maximise. It's obviously very slippery and it's hard to really push the limits on a track like this. But for whatever reason yeah we struggled with that this weekend.”
Since rejoining the Faenza-based team, Liam Lawson has contributed four points to their tally. However, in the four race weekends he has contested, Lawson has been out-qualified by teammate Yuki Tsunoda on all occasions. In terms of race performance, the New Zealander has only finished ahead of Tsunoda twice, both times due to the Japanese driver’s retirement.
Red Bull’s junior team currently sits eighth in the constructors’ standings with 46 points, trailing Alpine by three points and Haas by four. With just two races remaining, the battle for a sixth place in the championship remains fiercely contested between the three midfield teams.