Motorsport: Liam Lawson adds to memorable weekend with win in Formula 2 sprint race at Belgian Grand Prix

Liam Lawson won the Formula 2 sprint race at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. Photo / Getty Images

Liam Lawson is having himself a memorable weekend around Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

After opening up the weekend of the Belgian Grand Prix behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, driving in the first practice session for Scuderia AlphaTauri, the young Kiwi driver has landed on top of the Formula 2 podium.

Lawson made the most of an incredible start from fifth on the grid to win the weekend's sprint race, hitting the front of the pack on the second lap and never relinquishing that lead.

"The car was just rapid, honestly; really, really hooked up, so obviously positives for (the feature race) as well," Lawson said.

The 20-year-old had to have gotten some sort of start off the line as, despite being forced wide and onto the grass as he tried to make a move to improve his position heading into the first corner.

Whether it was a conscious decision to back his car and use the grass, or simply a decision made to avoid a potential collision, he was able to maintain his speed and went around the first turn in second place.

For the first lap, he pushed pole-sitter Ralph Boschung before finally finding room to make the pass with ease early in the second lap.

Boschung didn't go down without a fight, and continued to put the heat on Lawson for the next few laps, as on lap five the Kiwi mentioned to his team that he wasn't happy with what he was getting out of the back tires.

His team assured him the issue would settle down, and by the seventh lap Lawson's lead was more than 1.5sec and he began to pull away from the field. By the 11th lap, his lead was at more than 4sec and the race was his for the taking.

It looked like a straightforward affair from that point, however when his Carlin teammate Logan Sargeant spun out and crashed into the wall on the same lap, several drivers took the opportunity under the safety car to put head into the pits for fresh tyres and try to make some ground. One of those was current competition leader Felipe Drugovich, who got onto the soft tyres and began to make moves through the field when the safety car had lifted.

However, Lawson's lead remained well beyond the reach of his rivals, as the Kiwi ultimately ran a lonely race at the front of the pack for his third race win of the season.

"I was devastated when the safety car came out, " Lawson said. "We were in a pretty good position at that point, and it gives everyone a chance to reset and cool the tyres. But on the restart the car was straight away good again.

"I was watching the screens around the whole track trying to look for Felipe to see where he was, but luckily it was enough."

Fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong was also in the points for the sprint race, making some good moves early to finishing in seventh place after starting 12th on the grid.

Picking up 11 points for the race win, Lawson jumped into fifth on the ladder on 99 points for the season, just one point behind fourth-placed Enzo Fittipaldi heading into the weekend's feature race, which gets underway around 8:15pm tonight.