Lawson laments what might have been

Things didn’t go quite Lawson’s way for the Dutch GP, a collision with Carlos Sainz, a puncture and ending in P12. Sainz later received a 10sec penalty for the incident. Meanwhile, Lawson’s teammate, Isack Hadjar, scored his maiden podium with a P3 finish. 

It was a shame for Lawson who was running seventh before a safety car intervention. He was on track for a decent finish.

The race winner was Oscar Piastri (above), followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in his home GP at the Zandvoort Circuit.

After the race restart, Lawson’s Racing Bulls car was clipped by Williams’ Carlos Sainz. That forcing the Kiwi into the pits for a left rear tyre replacement.

On the team radio, Sainz blamed Lawson for the incident. However, the judiciary said otherwise, indicating he had not given enough room to Lawson’s car in front.

The Kiwi said: “It just sucks, sucks for both of us”. He had started eighth on the grid.

“The rules are written as they are, we all know how they’re written. 

“For it to be his corner, he has to be ahead at the apex. He wasn’t anywhere near that today, that’s why he got a penalty for it, I’m guessing.”

This is the first hiccup in a run of good form for Lawson. He had produced solid top 10 finishes in Hungary and Belgium before the summer break.

Piastri’s win gives the Aussie a 34-point championship lead. His teammate and rival, Lando Norris, saw his race go sideways.

While in second place on lap 65 of 72, he said he could smell smoke. His withdrawal ended a long run of 1-2 finishes for the McLaren drivers. 

It was a day to forget for Ferrari as well, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both crashing out.

With the McLarens neck and neck, and nine races to go, including sprints, Norris now has plenty of points to bank if he wants to win the championship. 

George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes with Alex Albon fifth for Williams and Oliver Bearman sixth for Haas.

The two Aston Martins finished in seventh and eighth with Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda ninth and Esteban Ocon rounding out the top 10 for Haas.

Hadjar’s first time standing on the podium makes him the fifth youngest to do so. It bodes well for his future in the sport.

“It feels great. To share the track [with Verstappen], spend most of the race behind him, being within two or three seconds the whole time, and share my first podium with him on his home soil as well, I think it’s pretty cool.” He started fourth and inherited fifth after Norris failed to finish with seven laps remaining.

Lawson had nothing but praise for his younger teammate.

“I’m super happy for the team. Isack drove a great race and to be on the podium is exceptional,” Lawson said.

“The team have been working very hard and it’s so well deserved.”