Liam Lawson 'blind' after Racing Bulls F1 car suffers major damage

Liam Lawson has explained how he was "blind" during Japanese Grand Prix qualifying after his Racing Bulls F1 car suffered major damage. 

Lawson qualified in 14th place for the Suzuka race, finishing 0.386s slower than team-mate Arvid Lindblad in Q2. The rookie advanced through to Q3, eventually banking 10th on the grid.

This came after Lawson was actually 0.124s faster than Lindblad in Q1. The New Zealander, however, has revealed how a broken front wing in Q2 had made him "blind" to the ever-changing and evolving track conditions.

"We had a broken front wing in Q2," Lawson revealed to the media, including RacingNews365. 

"I don't know what happened, but I came in after the first run with damage, so we changed it, and the second wing had a very different balance.

"It was one that I haven't had all weekend, unfortunately, so it is frustrating that it happened right at the point where the most important lap of the weekend is."

When asked if the team being in a rush to change the wing had meant that it could not calibrate the settings had been a factor, Lawson signalled that it was.

"Unfortunately, that is what it seems, or at least the same settings haven't given us the same balance," he said.

"We've been a bit blind because we've done a lap on a broken wing, and with the way the track is evolving, it unfortunately meant we went into the last round blind, and unfortunately, it cost us today."

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