Liam Lawson impressed Purple Bull on his return to F1 at america Grand Prix.
The 22-year-old, who was drafted in as a alternative for Daniel Ricciardo at Purple Bull’s sister crew RB, rose from nineteenth on the grid to attain factors in ninth with an excellent restoration drive.
Lawson was pressured to begin on the again at COTA on account of an inherited engine penalty. That got here after he certified fifteenth within the dash – having set the third-quickest time in SQ1 – earlier than ending sixteenth in a race during which he battled two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
His efficiency in his first grand prix outing for over a yr drew reward from Purple Bull crew principal Christian Horner.
“I believe when you’re getting right into a spat and getting your elbows out with Fernando in your first race again in, you are doing alright,” Horner advised reporters in Austin.
“I believe that he drove an distinctive race in the present day from nineteenth to ninth. He was quick, he was brave and I believed it was a superb comeback for him.”
Lawson is seeking to safe a full-time seat with RB for subsequent yr alongside Yuki Tsunoda, however he’s conscious he might but stake a declare for a Purple Bull seat instead of the underperforming and beneath strain Sergio Perez.
Purple Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko was additionally impressed, describing Lawson as “a person for the longer term”.
“A very nice debut,” Marko advised Sky Germany. “That was already obvious in Q1, the place he drove the third quickest time.
“He was in management always and had nice overtaking manoeuvres. It’s a must to put the children within the automobile after which it really works. He’s positively a person for the longer term.”
Lawson himself mentioned: “I simply went for each little hole and made up some positions. We made a extremely good step up with the automobile yesterday, which we hoped would replicate within the race in the present day and fortunately it did.”
