Lawson started in the promising position of P8, but fell several places due to losing power at the race start.

In the opening part of the race, battling for P16, the Kiwi followed Cadillac's Perez, a fierce rival since the pair fought for the second Red Bull seat in 2024 - in Mexico that year, Lawson apologised to Perez after appearing to show him the middle finger down the main straight.

Lawson's first attempt at an overtake against his nemesis Perez came at Turn 3 on Lap 16, but he was forced off the track after failing to get ahead of the apex.

Eventually, at Turn 11, Lawson barged his way past Perez in an aggressive move - the Mexican then trailed the Racing Bulls driver chuckling to his race engineer: “What happened to this guy?”

Meanwhile, Lawson was not impressed by Perez' tough defence, telling his own race engineer: "This guy f***ing sucks, bro,” before eventually finishing in P13.

The war of words did not stop there, as Lawson spoke to media, including GPblog, about the battle, citing their pair's previous skirmishes in 2024.

Perez, however, did not seem too bothered about Lawson's comments, saying he was just focusing on "fun racing" in his much slower Cadillac.

“I was just trying to race him. It was a bit of fun racing, and that’s really it. I was in a much slower car, so I think it’s just fine to race," Perez concluded.

Another Racing Bulls driver has been making headlines, Lawson's teammate Arvid Lindblad, who capped his F1 debut an eighth-place finish.

With the four points scored in Melbourne at 18 years, seven months and one day, Lindblad became the third-youngest driver in Formula 1 history to score points.

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.