Helmut Marko offers first Liam Lawson verdict upon F1 return at ...

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko believes New Zealand star Liam Lawson “did a very good job” upon his return to competitive F1 action in sprint qualifying at the United States Grand Prix.

Red Bull junior team VCARB announced last month that Hastings-born Lawson will contest the final six races of the F1 2024 season having replaced Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo following the Singapore GP.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

After a bright start in practice in Austin, Texas, on Friday, Lawson went faster than established team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in the first stage of sprint qualifying.

However, the 22-year-old was ultimately forced to settle for 15th place after having a lap deleted for a track limits breach in the closing stages of SQ2.

The United States GP marks Lawson’s first F1 appearance in more than a year, having impressed in a five-race cameo while standing in for an injured Ricciardo in mid-2023.

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Speaking exclusively to PlanetF1.com’s US editor Elizabeth Blackstock after sprint qualifying, Marko declared himself satisfied with Lawson’s comeback performance.

Asked if he was expecting more from Lawson, he replied: “No, he did basically a very good job.

“He was unlucky with track limits, so he was eliminated in P12, but in SQ1 he was faster than Yuki.

“He never has been on this track, so it’s OK.”

Reflecting on his session, Lawson added: “It was all going really good, to be honest. The build up earlier was good and then SQ1 was good as well, just finding things here and there.

“Obviously we get one lap in Q2 and it was just really scrappy. From Turn 1, I really went wide on the kerb and got massive wheel spin.

“And then obviously from there, you’re trying to make up time throughout the rest of the lap because, you know you’re at a delta.

“Just a scrappy lap. It’s a shame because the car’s been really fast and, to be honest, I actually feel really good and comfortable.

“We’ll learn from it for tomorrow.”

Lawson is set to start from the back of the grid for Sunday’s main race at the Circuit of The Americas, with the FIA confirming a 60-place grid penalty following a change of engine.

F1 rules state that engine components are attached to the car, rather than each individual driver, forcing Lawson to serve a penalty after inheriting Ricciardo’s pool of parts.

Lawson admitted that he would rather have returned to action on a standard F1 race weekend with three practice sessions, but conceded that the nature of the sprint format has forced him to “just get on with it.”

Asked about his target for the sprint race, he replied: “Try and move forward.

“I think I would have rather have three practice sessions but obviously, at least this way, I’m sort of forced to just get on with it and and work with what we’ve got and basically that’s what we’re doing.

“I think the car is quite fast. The race tomorrow, I guess, will be more of a warm up for Sunday.

“Obviously I’ll be at the back of the grid for Sunday anyway, but it’ll all be good to learn tomorrow to try and take this stuff forward for Sunday.”

Despite announcing Lawson would replace Ricciardo for the rest of F1 2024, VCARB stopped short of confirming the youngster for next season – sparking suggestions that Lawson could yet emerge as a contender to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing in F1 2025.

Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, recently hinted that Lawson could be considered as a serious alternative to Perez, admitting ahead of Lawson’s return that the team “desperately need answers” in the hope of having two drivers capable of scoring consistent points next season.

Perez, who remains without a podium finish since the Chinese Grand Prix in April, endured a troubled sprint qualifying session, managing only 11th on the grid as team-mate Max Verstappen stormed to his first pole position of any kind since the Austrian GP in late June.

Asked if he was disappointed by Perez’s performance, Marko added: “He was qualifying with the soft tyre. He said he had no grip on the tyre, we have to check why that is.

“But it will be difficult from P11 to finish in the points.”

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