Lawson wins Sprint race, scores podium in Feature

It was a busy weekend for New Zealand Formula 2 driver Liam Lawson after he won the sprint race on Saturday and scored a podium in Sunday’s feature.

There was more in store for the Kiwi than his usual F2 duties  however, with Lawson starting his Belgian Grand Prix weekend out behind the wheel of AlphaTauri’s Formula 1 car in the first practice session on Friday.

After successfully putting in his first F1 laps, Lawson jumped back into his Carlin Motorsport F2 car hours later where he qualified sixth fastest. The reverse top 10 grid format following qualifying saw him start fifth for the Sprint.

Come the race, there was one less car for Lawson to overtake as Jehan Deruvala failed to start. The remaining three cars ahead proved little challenge for the Kiwi, with the 20-year-old claiming the lead by lap two.

It was plain sailing from there on in with progress only being hampered by a safety car on lap 12, bunching the field up. When the race restarted, Lawson pulled away yet again and came home in first with Jack Doohan in second and Ralph Boschung in third.

Fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong finished in seventh position.

His success didn’t stop there though with Lawson finishing third in the Feature Race the next day.

Starting in sixth, he managed to beat David Beckmann off the start for fifth and soon pipped teammate Logan Sargeant for fourth.

Lawson then faced a stiff battle with Enzo Fittipaldi whom he attempted to pass on lap two with the Brazilian driver running wide off-track. With Fittipaldi’s team believing he gained an advantage during the tussle, Lawson was given the position.

Up front, Felipe Drugovich led Doohan comfortably but was soon undercut in the pits by the Australian for the lead. Throughout the race, Doohan, Drugovich and Lawson pulled away from the pack and soon finished in the same order.

Armstrong finished the Feature outside of the points in 13th as a result of his competitor’s strategies pushing the New Zealander out of the top ten.

It was a busy yet successful weekend overall for Lawson who sits fifth in the championship standings with three rounds to go. F2 will return on September 2 to 4 at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.