Lawson: ‘I wasn’t trying to prove a point’ with Alonso, Perez

new red bull driver Liam Lawson He has insisted that he was not “trying to set an example” with his hard racing during his six-round campaign in Formula 1 last year.

kiwi replaced Daniel Ricciardo But RB (now known as Racing Bulls) ahead of the last two triple-headers of the 2024 season, as Red Bull were keen to evaluate Lawson with a view to promoting him to the main team – and eventually did so.

In his first two grands prix since his F1 debut in 2023 – then also standing in for Ricciardo, who suffered a fractured hand – Lawson made waves with his unflinching racing that left people fuming. fernando alonso on the circuit of America and sergio perez in Mexico.

Both veterans felt that Lawson was driving too aggressively, especially with his strong defensive moves. Alonso called the young player an “idiot” on team radio, while Pérez told the media that Lawson needed to be “more humble”.

Nevertheless, the RB driver was not disciplined by the managers.

Asked by Autosport in an interview at the end of the season whether he was attempting to lay down his marker and show he was no pushover, Lawson replied: “No, not that… I don’t set any examples. Or not trying to install anything like that.

“I feel like I’m racing the same way with everyone, I’m not racing anyone differently.

“I have a very small window here at the moment, so it’s very important (to prove myself), but I’m not trying to set any precedent, or trying to set, like, – I don’t know what this word is. ” prove a point? “I’m not really trying to do that, no.”

After his elbow clash with Alonso, Lawson finished ninth in his F1 return at the United States Grand Prix.

“It’s a bit of a relief,” the 22-year-old admitted. “Obviously we all have self-confidence, we all believe in our ability, but when you haven’t driven for a long time, it’s hard to know where you’re really going. You don’t know how much you expect or how much you’re willing to give until you’re behind the wheel.

“It was good to get that start and obviously it gave me good confidence going forward.”

Speaking before being announced as max verstappenTeammate for 2025, Lawson described his interim performance as “some strong races and some not so strong races” and vowed to learn from the mistakes made later.