Red Bull problem after Ricciardo's replacement left them stumped at Italian GP

05 September 2023 , 09:18

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Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo (Image: Peter Fox/Getty Images)

Former Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson has highlighted a major "problem" which means it will difficult for Red Bull and AlphaTauri to draw conclusions from Liam Lawson's performance at the Italian Grand Prix.

Lawson has been filling in for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri after the Australian broke his hand during practice at the Dutch Grand Prix. The 21-year-old finished 13th in Zandvoort after replacing Ricciardo at the last minute, but the Italian GP marked his first full F1 race weekend.

And he fared better in Monza, finishing 11th and just missing out on his first F1 point to Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas. However, Davidson believes the fact that Lawson's teammate Yuki Tsunoda did not race at all after suffering an engine failure on the formation lap means his performance cannot be considered a true "barometer" of his abilities.

When asked about Lawson on Sky Sports F1, Davidson said: "Some good overtakes there as he worked his way back through the field, so he didn't lose his nerve when he got a bad start. The only problem to him, of course, is that he didn't have his team-mate as a reference throughout the whole race.

"As soon as we saw Tsunoda go out, I'm sure that was a negative effect, I feel, for Liam Lawson because I can't look at the job he did today and have a barometer. So maybe the car was better than what he showed, we'll never know."

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Speaking after the race, Lawson revealed he was still getting used to F1 racing and admitted he was disappointed not to have picked up a point. "A couple of things went wrong today, we need to look into the start, as I could have done a better job, and that's where we lost the chance," he said.

"The pace wasn't too bad then, but the race slightly got away from us. I'm still learning the procedures and definitely starting to feel more comfortable in the car, but I'm just a little bit disappointed with my race, as I think we may have had the pace for points today.

Lawson is currently filling in for Ricciardo at AlphaTauri after the Australian broke his hand (Andrea Diodato/Getty Images)

"I'm not sure though, so we need to look into it. These races are longer than I'm used to, so definitely adjusting, but I felt much more prepared than I did last weekend, so I'm happy about that."

Lawson also opened up about the advice and support he has received from Ricciardo and Tsunoda, telling Sky Sports : "Yuki has been very supportive which is obviously great as a team-mate.

"Before the race last week, Daniel as well offered all the advice he could give. Both really supportive guys, and same with the team. They've been extremely helpful with trying to get me up to speed as quickly as possible."

Matthew Cooper