Formula 1: Liam Lawson v Sergio Perez feud reignites in Melbourne season opener

By Alex Powell in Melbourne

There’s still no love lost between Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson.

Two years on from the Kiwi taking the Mexican’s seat at Red Bull, the pair clashed again, this time in the Australian Grand Prix.

After being sacked for the Kiwi at the end of 2024, Perez is back on the grid this year with newcomers Cadillac, as the American manufacturers gave the 36-year-old a career lifeline.

A battery issue at lights out saw Lawson drop from seventh down the grid, and was forced to fight his way from the back of the field.

After overtaking the backmarkers, Lawson came face to face with Perez again on lap 16.

Not for the first time, the duo came wheel to wheel, before Perez was investigated by the stewards for forcing Lawson off track as the Kiwi got around him.

And speaking after Mercedes’ George Russell took the chequered flag, Lawson didn’t hold back in his assessment of Perez’s tactics.

“Two years later, he’s not over it,” Lawson said of Perez. “He was fighting me like it was for the world championship, and we’re P16.

“I don’t really care too much, my race was already over at that point. We’ll move on.

“It was nothing illegal, he was just aggressive. Honestly, I don’t care, it was for P16.”

The pair do have form in that regard. During the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix, Perez attempted to brakecheck Lawson to stop him performing an overtake, to which the Kiwi responded with the middle finger once he managed to get around him.

That race saw Perez finish 17th as the last driver on track, a feat he replicated in Melbourne as Lawson took 13th.

Regardless, Lawson sees Melbourne as a missed opportunity.

Both he and rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad qualified inside the top 10, to give Racing Bulls hopes of at the very least matching their sixth-placed finish in the constructors championship last year - the best result in the team’s history.

Battery woes on the start line, as part of new engine regulations imposed on all teams this year, though, ultimately had the biggest say on the 24-year-old’s weekend.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” he said. “I launched and didn’t move. I lost all power and couldn’t get it back for five seconds.

“It’s pretty frustrating, we had a good day yesterday, had both cars in a great position.

“The pace in the race was ok, we were just fighting issues throughout the race, trying to manage energy. It’s something I’ll review.

“Definitely not a clean day. Even after the start through the race, we were fighting issues. It’s a shame.”

That’s not to say there aren’t positives, though, far from it. While Lawson was 13th, Lindblad took eighth on his Formula One debut, as a sign Racing Bulls’ VCARB03 can score points.

But with plenty to learn, and little time before the season continues in China next week, Lawson expects another tight battle at the front of the midfield.

“It’s about where [Lindblad] finished, we’re fighting with Haas and Audi. It’s probably about where it is.

“Yesterday we had the edge in qualifying. Without issues today, I’d have loved to see what was possible, especially with a couple of the top guys not finishing.

“It’s frustrating to miss out on those opportunities, [but] it’s a decent start going forward. We need to keep improving with everyone else.

“We had a good car in quali, we just need to get on top of everything else.”

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.