Liam Lawson tries his hand at rallying
Photo:
Eric Alonso / PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson has tried his hand at rallying.
In a non-F1 weekend the 23-year-old Kiwi is involved in the
Goodwood Festival of Speed in England
.
Of the F1 teams nine are in attendance, with Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman, Yuki Tsunoda and Gabriel Bortoleto among the current F1 drivers taking part.
Lawson is driving Red Bull's RB7 car that was used during the 2011 Formula 1 season up the challenging Goodwood Hill.
However on Friday he got behind the wheel of an M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car of Irish driver Josh McErlean to take on the forest rally stage at the event.
McErlean was his co-driver as he made a number of runs.
"Growing up in New Zealand, rally is very popular," Lawson told DirtFish.com.
"I've never had the chance [to drive one], so I was very nervous to jump straight in this car. But it was such an incredible experience."
"I was battling, hitting a couple of banks and things and trying to keep the thing straight. Probably too straight, to be honest!"
However McErlean was impressed with Lawson's handling of the car
"To jump into this car for the first time, to even drive it, to know where you're pulling gears, to know where the handbrake is, it's a daunting experience to jump into any rally car.
"His times were seriously close on the last run," McErlean said.
After competing at Goodwood, Lawson will return to F1 later this month at the Belgium Grand Prix.
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