Liam Lawson explains major Fernando Alonso lesson over controversial F1 topic

Liam Lawson has explained how a penalty he received for crashing into Fernando Alonso helped him to have a greater understanding of F1's racing guidelines and penalties.

In the closing stages of the Miami GP Sprint race, Lawson was in a gaggle of cars led by Aston Martin's Alonso, battling over the final point. 

At Turn 11, Lawson was forced out wide and then clipped Alonso's car, spearing it into the barrier and out of the race, as the New Zealander went on to finish in eighth on the road, before earning a five-second time penalty.

This cost Lawson his first points finish of the season, dropping to 13th, with the racing and overtaking guidelines a constant topic of debate among drivers, with the FIA releasing a document detaling the guidelines shortly afterwards.

Reflecting on his own lessons, Lawson explained how the incident with Alonso unlocked major understandings about the rules.

"I think I probably did at the start of the year when I had a couple of incidents," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365, of the uncertainty around the racing guidelines.

"The one that stands out for me was Miami with Fernando when I tried to go around the outside, and felt I wasn't given space.

"At the time, I remember feeling like I shouldn't get a penalty, but when you read the guidelines and understand them, that's how they're written this year.

"For us, we need to understand how they're written, and from that point, for me, I took a lot of learning. 

'From then, I knew that if I am overtaking, I need to get my axle to a certain point, and if somebody is overtaking me, if the guidelines say I don't have to give them space, why would I give them space and let them pass me? 

"That doesn't make sense."