Liam Lawson explains major Sao Paulo dilemma after tricky F1 test

Liam Lawson has explained the dilemma faced by F1 drivers in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in managing their intermediate tyres in the opening phase of the race.

The 71-lap race at Interlagos began with the field on the Intermediate tyres as drizzle fell, with Lawson making a strong start from third on the grid to run second after passing pole-sitter Lando Norris as he gave chase to leader Kimi Antonelli. 

However, as the light rain ceased, the track began to quickly dry, with drivers, such as Lawson and Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari experiencing tyre graining from the early stages, which is where the tyres are running too hot for the track conditions and begin to slide.

Small chunks of rubber then stick to the surface of the tyre, and then creates a vicious circle as the lap-times plummet.

For Lawson, who finished eighth on the road but was promoted to seventh following a penalty for Charles Leclerc performing a 'bump and run' on him at Turn 12 on Lap 69 as they climbed the hill after the rain returned, he described how even as early as the opening lap, his intermediates were already beginning to grain. 

"The problem is that you never know whether to push through the graining and wear it off, or try to look after the tyre and stop the graining," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365.

"And when it is dry, you can't really do too much. 

"For us, the graining started halfway through Lap 1.

"And for us, we were never really going to be able to keep [faster] cars behind, so I will go and review it and see if there's something else I could have done."

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Liam Lawson reflects on another strong result

Reflecting further on his afternoon, Lawson expressed his desire for the grand prix to have stayed wet throughout, as he felt this could have yielded an even better result, with the top cars pulling away through the dry middle stint of the race. 

"I feel like we maximised and had a strong race," he said.

"I would have liked it to stay wet the whole race; it would have been cool, and we probably would have had more of a shot [at fighting those ahead].

"But at the moment, we're topping the midfield as a team, and that is what we're targeting every weekend."