Liam Lawson ready to scratch 'very special' itch after 'bad Imola weekend'

Liam Lawson cannot wait to pitch up in Monaco in a few days following "a bad weekend" in Imola.

The Racing Bull's driver initially missed out on a place in Q2 by over a tenth of a second, and instead watched team-mate Isack Hadjar claim a place in the top 10 as the French-Algerian continue his superb run of form.

In the race, Lawson was amongst those heavily affected by the VSC called on lap 29 after Esteban Ocon was forced to pull his Haas off track due to a power unit issue.

Although a full safety car on lap 46 of the 63-lap race bunched up the field, by that stage Lawson was fighting a rearguard action, ultimately crossing the line in 14th.

It means the New Zealander has still to score a point, and already looking forward to his maiden race around Monaco.

"The VSC and the safety car just didn't work for us," said Lawson, speaking to media, including RacingNews365, after the race. "It's disappointing. I was trying to make up some ground, and I had good potential, but when the VSC came out, it ended our race.

"The car was fast all weekend. I just didn't get to try it yesterday [in qualifying], and then today I didn't get to show it either. Monaco is very different, and I can't wait to go there.

"It's an iconic track, and I'm sure in an F1 car it's going to be very special. It's very different for all of us. We have to drive a very different style of car to make it work there, but I'm very excited, and after a bad weekend, I just want to go there and get into it
again."

As to whether he feels the Racing Bulls package will work well around the slow, tight, twisty nature of the principality's streets, Lawson feels at this stage it is "really hard to tell".

He added: "Looking at races last year, it doesn't necessarily mean that this year is going to be the same, but I think we're heading in a good direction with the car."

An added twist for this year's Monaco Grand Prix is the introduction of a mandatory two-stop rule which Lawson feels "potentially throws up more opportunity".

He concluded: "But at the end of the day, it's about car speed and being fast, and qualifying will still be pretty much just as important as always. So that's what we'll be focused on."