Formula 1: Liam Lawson to play key role in deciding rounds of constructors’ championship

Aside from securing his own Formula One future, Kiwi driver Liam Lawson has a key role to play in earning his RB Honda team an additional $28 million in funding for next season.

With the constructors’ prizemoney ranging from $100m to $237m, there’s still plenty at stake in the remaining two rounds, starting this weekend in Qatar.

Max Verstappen clinched his fourth drivers’ title in Las Vegas last weekend and that championship most captures the imagination of fans but the teams’ competition pays the bills.

This is the reason for much of the chatter about Sergio Perez’s future at Red Bull. Each team has two cars and both must score regularly to be at the pointy end of the constructors’ championship at the end of the season.

It is important to note teams may use more than two drivers. A good example was Alpha Tauri (now RB Honda) in 2023, when the team had Yuki Tsunoda in one car and a rotation of Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and Lawson sharing duties in the other.

That season, Tsunoda scored 17 points, Ricciardo six and Lawson two, meaning Alpha Tauri finished eighth in the constructors’ championship on 25 points.

In 2024, Red Bull has been the shining example of how not to do it. They started strongly, with both drivers scoring well. By the time the F1 circus had reached the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Red Bull was on 87 points, Ferrari 49 and McLaren 28.

But then Red Bull got speed wobbles, especially Perez, and by the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September, Red Bull had lost the constructors’ lead to McLaren.

A couple of races later, Ferrari moved ahead, pushing Red Bull to third, potentially meaning the Austrian outfit is now around $30m down on last year.

While that may make Red Bull principal Christian Horner a bit cranky, final positions are even more crucial for the smaller of the 10 teams in the bottom half of the table.

While Verstappen was celebrating his title, sixth-placed Haas (50 points), Alpine (49) and RB Honda (46) were preparing for crucial showdowns in Qatar and at the last round in Abu Dhabi.

The difference between sixth and eighth is around $28m — more than enough to replace a few front noses and suspension parts, and a big incentive for teams to motivate their drivers to end the season well.

With fifth-placed Aston Martin on 86 points and ninth-placed Williams on 17, the three-team race for sixth is an intriguing contest within a contest.

Similar to several other motorsport categories, a team’s location on pit lane next season is determined by where they finish in the constructors’ championship. The winning team gets the garage closest to the pit entrance, while the wooden spooners are nearest the pit exit.

The main advantage of being at the pit entrance is drivers can clearly see their team and dive straight in without weaving around another car. A disadvantage can be waiting for a rush of cars coming in while the driver is trying to get out again.

The constructors’ championship can be a little frustrating for fans as race strategy often comes into play. A driver may have to give up their track position to allow a quicker teammate past, or be caught up in a strategy that allows for the teammate to undercut at a pitstop.

Eric Thompson is a former international motorcycle racer and race mechanic and has written for Motorcycling Weekly, Motorcycle International and Classic Bike in the UK. He has also dabbled in saloon car racing and karting and has reported on motorsport for the Herald since 2006, and in particular New Zealanders racing domestically and internationally.