Lawson shunted to 12th at Dutch GP
- Dave Worsley
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
A collision late in Formula 1's Dutch Grand Prix has kept New Zealand driver Liam Lawson out of the points and a potential career-best finish.
The 23-year-old was seventh and looking good for sixth in the incident-packed race - won by McLaren's Oscar Piastri when racing was paused for a safety car restart at the Zandvoort Circuit.
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On the 27th lap, Lawson's Racing Bulls car was clipped by Williams' Carlos Sainz, forcing the Kiwi into the pits to repair his left rear tyre and dropping several places in the process.
On his team radio, Sainz blamed Lawson for the collision but it was the Spaniard who later copped a 10-second penalty, judged to have not given enough room to Lawson's car in front of him.
Sainz appeared to throw caution to the wind in his comments regarding the incident.
"You need to pick your battles, and Liam, in his first years now, has decided to have this approach. It's something I'll keep in mind."
Meanwhile Lawson couldn't believe what happened.
"It just sucks, sucks for both of us," said Lawson, who started eighth on the grid.
"It's obviously not my intention, but it's lap one on a restart.
"The rules are written as they are, we all know how they're written. So as much as we sometimes don't agree with it - I've been on the receiving end of it this year, I don't agree with it as well - that's how they are.
"For it to be his corner, he has to be ahead at the apex. He wasn't anywhere near that today, that's why he got a penalty for it, I'm guessing."
The result stalls momentum for Lawson, who produced solid top 10 finishes in Hungary and Belgium before the world championship took a four-week break.
The race was won by Australian Oscar Piastri driving a McLaren followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Racing Bulls Isack Hadjar in third, his first time on the podium