Liam Lawson has taken a second points finish in as many races, claiming ninth at Formula One’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Two weeks on from back-to-back sevenths in China’s sprint and grand prix, the Racing Bulls driver netted another two points for his weekend’s work, having climbed from 14th.
No driver made more overtakes from their starting position than Lawson’s five, who was on the positive end of a yellow flag.
While Lawson has in the past suffered at the hands of a safety car, namely in Barcelona last year, this time around saw fortune fall in his favour.
“Let’s keep building on it, exciting things coming,” Lawson told his race engineer Alexandre Iliopoulos after the chequered flag.
“That was pretty much flat out in that race. Well done everyone, another really good job. Thank you.
“We got lucky with that strategy but very well played. Thank you.”
As drivers took their pit stops early, Lawson stayed on track before Haas’ Ollie Bearman hit the wall at Suzuka’s famous Spoon corner, turns 13 and 14. The resulting yellow flag gave Lawson the ability to pit behind the safety car, and emerge in the points with no drivers able to pass him at the slower speed.
That saw the Kiwi finish ahead of Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad, who started 10th but crossed the line in 14th, after Lawson was forced to defend Haas’ Esteban Ocon for 25 laps.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli made it two wins from his last two grands prix, having started on pole but dropped down the grid off the start line, only to also benefit from the safety car - and take the lead in the world championship as a result.
The 19-year-old tops the standings with 72 points, nine clear of teammate George Russell, as the youngest driver in the sport’s history to lead the championship.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was able to finish second in his first completed race of the year, after not being able to start in Melbourne or China, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium in third.
Former championship leader Russell finished fourth after a late battle with Leclerc, while reigning champion Lando Norris was sixth.
Despite the positive result, Lawson drops to 10th in the standings, as Piastri’s podium saw him overtake the Racing Bulls driver. Racing Bulls also fall to seventh, as Pierre Gasly taking seventh place saw Alpine climb to sixth.
Formula One will now take a break of more than a month, after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix were cancelled by the war in Iran, and will resume in Miami in the first week of May.
Starting 14th, Lawson managed to climb two places off the start line, as neither Audi car got away cleanly and fell down the grid as a result. With less than a second to Ocon ahead of him, Lawson was in position to attempt an overtake, only to trade places with Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto in the battle for 12th.
As the laps wore on, Ocon cleared both Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Lindblad, setting Lawson up to fight against his past and present teammates for a shot at 10th place.
But as the Kiwi complained to his race engineer about his car’s balance, Hadjar was able to move further clear, and set his sights on Lindblad as Lawson came under threat from Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, less than a second behind him.
While Formula One’s new regulations and energy harvesting did lead to more overtakes towards the front of the field, Lawson was instead left relying on pit strategy in his attempts to move up the field.
On lap 19, Lawson climbed to 11th as Lindblad stopped for the first time when Racing Bulls gave strategy priority to their lead driver, and then moved up into ninth as more drivers headed for the pits.
Three laps later, Lawson’s luck finally turned. As Bearman put his car into the barriers, yellow flags and a safety car gave the Kiwi an effective free pit stop to change the Kiwi’s race altogether.
While he emerged in 10th, sandwiched between the two Audis, Bortoleto pitting saw Lawson climb to ninth by the time green flags were waved on lap 28, left with 25 laps to hold onto a points finish.
Behind him, Lawson benefited from Ocon and Bortoleto fighting for 10th place, but couldn’t pull more than a second clear as Max Verstappen opened up a gap to eighth in front of him.
As the laps wore on, Lawson was able to defend and deny Ocon any opportunity to pass him, even as the gap behind remained less than a second.
But with Lawson holding a three-lap tyre advantage over Ocon, and with his ability to defend cars behind him developing from race to race, the Kiwi had enough to hold on for ninth, and take his third lot of points this year.
1. Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes
2. Oscar Piastri – McLaren
3. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
4. George Russell – Mercedes
5. Lando Norris – McLaren
6. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
7. Pierre Gasly – Alpine
8. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
9. Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls
10. Esteban Ocon - Haas
11. Nico Hulkenberg – Audi
12. Isack Hadjar – Red Bull
13. Gabriel Bortoleto –- Audi
14. Arvid Lindblad – Racing Bulls
15. Carlos Sainz – Williams
16. Franco Colapinto – Alpine
17. Sergio Perez – Cadillac
18. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
19. Valtteri Bottas – Cadillac
20. Alex Albon – Williams
Did not finish: Oliver Bearman – Haas, Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.