Lawson fires cheeky dig at Leclerc after Brazil GP clash: 'Maybe it's his specialty'
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
Liam Lawson has taken a swipe at Charles Leclerc following their on-track battle at the Brazilian Grand Prix, questioning the legality of the Ferrari driver's move and joking that such manoeuvres might be his speciality.
The Racing Bulls driver enjoyed a strong start to the race, gaining a position on the opening lap and briefly considering an attack on Kimi Antonelli before struggling to match the pace of the cars ahead.
Towards the closing stages of the race, Lawson found himself battling Leclerc for seventh position, with the two drivers making contact at Turn 12 before the New Zealander eventually lost the place.
Speaking after the race, Lawson suggested that Leclerc's front wing made contact with his tyre, admitting that he was fortunate to escape without damage.
"I think it was his wing that hit my tyre. So I think we got really lucky. I feel like it was exactly like his GP2 move in Abu Dhabi on Albon years ago. He did the same kind of thing. So maybe it's his specialty. I don't know if it's legal or not. We'll obviously go review it, but it was a good battle, hopefully."
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Lawson was referring to Leclerc's battle with Alexander Albon during the 2017 GP2 weekend in Abu Dhabi, where the two drivers fought for position in an incident that the New Zealander believes resembled their latest encounter in Brazil.
Photo: Race Pictures
Despite his frustration over the contact, Lawson acknowledged that Racing Bulls lacked the pace to challenge the leading teams throughout the race: "Crazy race, honestly. Had a really good start. Good grip in Turn 1. Obviously, made up a place. Then, to be honest, I was thinking I might try and attack Kimi at some point in the lap."
"Once the pace stabilises, they're a lot quicker than us, and we started to fall back. We were damaging the tyre, I think, quite a lot more than them."
The New Zealander also pointed to tyre graining as a major limitation, revealing that the problem emerged almost immediately after the start: "For us, the graining started halfway through lap one, honestly."
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Nevertheless, Lawson felt Racing Bulls extracted the maximum from the weekend, even if he believed the team could have benefited from more persistent rain.
"I feel like we maximised today. Had a strong race. I would have liked it to stay wet the whole race. It would have been cool. Probably would have had more of a shot there. At the moment, we're topping the midfield as a team, and that's what we're targeting every weekend."
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