'I don't really know what happened': Liam Lawson opens up on his Miami Grand Prix performance as Racing Bulls suffer disappointing weekend

Time of India

08-05-2025

Liam Lawson (via Getty Images)
Liam Lawson's prospects for a breakthrough season in the
2025 Formula 1
campaign were extinguished at the
Miami Grand Prix
when the
Racing Bulls
driver was forced to retire after first-lap contact. It was a sour conclusion to a weekend that had begun well in the Sprint but very rapidly went skewed for
Liam Lawson
and rookie teammate
Isack Hadjar
in the main race.
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Liam Lawson's optimistic beginning falls short in Miami Grand Prix
Race Highlights | 2025 Miami Grand Prix
Liam Lawson, still in pursuit of his first points of the season driving for Racing Bulls, was set for a promising beginning after getting away well from the grid. Trying to pass through a tight gap at the first corner, Liam Lawson was hooked by Jack Doohan—freshly benched at Alpine for Franco Colapinto—twirling him to the back of the field.
'I don't really know what happened,' Liam Lawson explained. 'I had a really good launch, and a gap opened up through the middle into Turn 1, so I took it, and then I just felt a hit from the side into Turn 1. I don't know what happened; I need to watch it back, but then it obviously destroyed the floor, so we had to retire. It is not a nice feeling when you know that – you know you are basically in for a long afternoon, you are waiting for rain and it is drizzling at points and giving you the tiniest bit of hope but the car was broken anyway, so it was going to be a tough one regardless.'
With light rain, Liam Lawson's car was simply too badly damaged to execute any type of comeback. That was his second DNF in the 2025 season, a frustrating piece of news for a driver trying to make himself known within the deep Red Bull pipeline.
Isack Hadjar places 11th while Racing Bulls lose ground on Williams
Isack Hadjar narrowly failed to save a point for the team as he finished 11th, missing out by a little more than a five-second time penalty handed to Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda in front of him. Isack Hadjar, who has already twice scored this season, pushed hard in the final laps to remain within the important window. 'I could see the delta on my steering wheel, and I was really pushing in my car, but yeah, it was not enough,' he admitted. 'That last lap, I know I made – I wanted it too much to close the gap, and there were a few mistakes, so it is really frustrating and I feel a bit down.'
Also read:
Yuki Tsunoda replaces Liam Lawson at Red Bull before the Japanese Grand Prix
Miami in the rearview now, Racing Bulls have to reassemble speedily as the Formula 1 calendar makes its way back into Europe. For Liam Lawson, gaining form and race completion will be the key to maintaining hopes in the Red Bull hierarchy, as Isack Hadjar keeps going steady in his debut season.