Liam Lawson makes 'difficult' admission over contrasting Racing Bulls fortunes

Liam Lawson has admitted Racing Bulls is still searching for answers after struggling to turn strong qualifying performances into the same level of race pace.

The New Zealander has regularly helped underline the one-lap potential of the VCARB 03, with the Faenza-based team often appearing among the stronger midfield contenders on Saturdays.

However, Lawson conceded that sustaining that performance across a grand prix has proven more challenging, particularly as Racing Bulls continues to fight directly with Alpine in the constructors' championship.

"We have been in a good place in qualifying, and seem to have a very good car, but trying to replicate that in the race has been a little bit more difficult for us," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365.

Recent races have highlighted the contrast Lawson pointed to. In Spain, he qualified eighth, ahead of both Alpine drivers, with Franco Colapinto in P13 and Pierre Gasly in P14, respectively.

Yet on race day, the latter was able to move forward and finish seventh, one place ahead of Lawson, underlining the French team's ability to recover ground when points were on offer.

A similar trend was visible in Canada. Lawson qualified P12 and went on to finish seventh, gaining five places, but Alpine still produced a strong Sunday as Colapinto finished sixth and Gasly eighth.

Those examples have contributed to a wider pattern for Racing Bulls: the car has shown the speed to be competitive over one lap, but converting that into consistent race-day results remains the key challenge.

Despite the difficulty, Lawson does not believe Racing Bulls is facing a fundamental problem with its car. Instead, he suggested the team needs to keep refining the balance and execution required over a full race distance.

"It's something we're working through," he said. "In the race, it's obviously a very different speed you're driving to qualifying, and I think it's something we're chasing, trying to sort of affect our balance.

"So, I'm sure it's little things, it's nothing big. Obviously, the speed of the car is there, so we definitely have a way of executing it; we just need to keep focusing on trimming that race car and making it stronger."