Liam Lawson finished Friday at the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1 in 12th, but indicated that Red Bull Racing may prepare a specific strategy for the qualifying session. The New Zealander highlighted the importance of the slipstream at Monza and stated that the team will discuss a plan for the session.
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Red Bull’s performance was inconsistent on the first day. Lawson started FP1 in 4th, but dropped to 12th in FP2, while Max Verstappen finished the second session in 9th, with Racing Bulls and Haas also ahead of the team.
Lawson explained that the focus in FP2 was mainly on race pace data. After doing a short simulation at the start of the session, the driver completed two long runs, one with soft tires and another with hard tires, seeking information that could help the team after the difficulties faced at the Dutch GP.
“It was a productive day. We spent most of FP2 doing long runs, so we did a short lap at the start and it seemed reasonable. Then, we did two long runs with the soft and hard tires,” said Lawson. The driver also highlighted that he had more difficulties in the race at Zandvoort than in the qualifying session, and that he intends to use the data collected at Monza to learn from that experience.
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The importance of the slipstream was especially evident at the Italian circuit, where the effect can represent a significant difference in performance during fast laps. For this reason, Red Bull should evaluate how its two cars can work together in the qualifying session.
Asked about the possibility of the team using tactics with both drivers, Lawson confirmed that the matter will be discussed: “Definitely, it’s something we will discuss and we will come up with a plan,” concluded the New Zealander.
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