F1 News: Liam Lawson Reflects On Drenched Dutch GP Debut - "Wasn't The Best Feeling"

Liam Lawson has reflected on his F1 debut after stepping in for Daniel Ricciardo for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson has reflected on his F1 debut following the dramatic Dutch Grand Prix. 

The New Zealander stepped in for Daniel Ricciardo after he broke his wrist during FP2 on Friday. Lawson then only had one practice session to get used to the AT04 ahead of qualifying. After qualifying in twentieth position, Lawson started from nineteenth with Kevin Magnussen starting the race from the pit lane.

The Dutch Grand Prix was dramatic from the offset with heavy rain coming down in the opening laps leading the drivers to switch up their tyre strategies. However, Lawson still managed to put in a good performance amid the chaos. He finished in thirteenth position and ahead of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda who dropped to fifteenth after a late penalty.

Lawson explained in the AlphaTauri round-up:

"The aim was to do all 72 laps today. When I first got on the grid and it started raining, it wasn't the best feeling.

"After that, we had no choice but to make the pitstop but unfortunately, we got a penalty and lost a huge amount of time during it. I think once we got clean air during the second half of the race and then driving on the intermediate tyres at the end, my pace wasn't so bad.

"There's some work to do, but I'm just happy to have gotten through the race, experiencing different conditions and scenarios, to be able to take them forward."

AlphaTauri head of vehicle performance, Guillaume Dezoteux, commented on Lawson's debut:

"As for Liam, he did a very good job today, learning about the car and adapting to the conditions, which were constantly evolving. He made no mistakes and was able to build up the pace on dry tyres, which he was driving on for the first time in our car.

"Overall, it was a difficult weekend. We will review the various decisions made and analyse the data to improve the cars and the decision-making process in such circumstances. Now it's time to prepare for next week's race in Monza, which will hopefully be dry!"

It is currently unclear how long Ricciardo's recovery will be so fans can expect to see Lawson take the track in Monza as well.