Liam Lawson speaks on his rain-hit in Brazilian Grand Prix:

Liam Lawson’s second ninth-place finish in just three Formula 1 races was no ordinary result. The New Zealand driver, standing in for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri, endured a tense, high-stakes race at the rain-hit Brazilian Grand Prix, where he narrowly avoided disaster on multiple occasions.

Speaking after the race, Lawson admitted that the conditions were incredibly challenging, revealing that he came perilously close to crashing multiple times. “I nearly crashed probably 10 times,” he said, reflecting on the chaotic scenes that unfolded in Brazil’s unpredictable weather. The rain-drenched circuit proved tricky even for the most experienced drivers, but Lawson’s composure helped him navigate the stormy conditions with impressive skill.

One particularly close call came when Lawson entered the pit lane. After a red flag and a restart, the driver faced the challenge of managing slick, wet tires while

trying to react to the changing conditions. Lawson recounted, “I came into the pit lane and I wasn’t stopping, and I was aiming straight for the tyre wall, the barrier at the pit entrance.

And it just gripped before then.” The heart-stopping moment was a close reminder of how easily a race can be lost in such unpredictable conditions. Thankfully, Lawson’s quick reflexes saw him avoid disaster.

The circuit’s constant changes in weather made it difficult for many drivers to find their rhythm, and Lawson was no exception. Despite strong performance early in the stint, particularly after the red flag, he struggled to maintain pace as the race wore on. “We were strong at the start of the stint, after the red flag, but everyone was in a train and we couldn’t really use it,” he explained. With cars packed closely together, Lawson found himself under constant pressure from those behind, and much of his race was spent defending his position.

The combination of difficult track conditions and relentless pressure from his rivals meant that the young driver had to keep his focus on a knife-edge for the entire race. Lawson described the experience as “a lot of concentration,” underscoring just how mentally taxing it was to stay in control during the rain-soaked Brazilian GP.

Despite the challenges, Lawson’s grit and determination paid off, as he secured another top-10 finish in what has been an impressive stint for the rookie. His ability to stay calm in such high-pressure situations is a testament to his growing maturity behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.

With the Brazilian Grand Prix behind him, Lawson will no doubt carry valuable lessons into his next race, but his performance in São Paulo certainly added another layer of confidence to his emerging reputation on the Formula 1 grid.